


Once in a full moon

by TheGirlNoOneKnows5



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Coming Out, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Humour, M/M, Mermaids, Pining, Shenanigans, Slow Burn, background joneva, bed sharing, blink and you'll miss the angst, i think i'm funny but i'm not, ish, loose adaptation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-04-01 01:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13987923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlNoOneKnows5/pseuds/TheGirlNoOneKnows5
Summary: “I’ll bet I know what it is,” an unfamiliar voice said.Jonas’s eyes widened and he slowly turned his head to look towards the voice. Isak did the same, his breath stuck in his throat. He hadn’t planned on getting murdered today. What he saw had no explanation other than he must have slipped and hit his head.At the end of the pool sat a young man about their age, naked on top. He lifted a glistening blue tail above the surface of the water. “I’d say it’s a merman.”-Even has to make a land person fall in love with him by the next full moon to save his pod.Isak and Jonas would do anything to save the Vasquez Seafood business. A clueless merman is the last thing they need.Loosely based on Aquamarine





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is only going to be a short fic, so come along for the ride!  
> I borrowed some terms from H2O Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids. You may have guessed; I love mermaids.

 

“What do you think,” Even said, looking above, “it’d be like to live up there?”

His companion blew bubbles in response

Smiling to himself, Even said, “Blue skies instead of blue oceans.”

More bubbles.

Even chuckled softly. “I’ll bet they don’t have a listener as good as you, Frank.”  

The little blue fish looked at him with big eyes. Even wondered if he understood a single word he’d ever spoken to him. Frank was a sort of living diary. He held each one of Even’s secrets in his fishy memory. Perhaps it would be best if he didn’t understand. But that was the thing about fish; they never judged.

Even wasn’t the most popular merman in his pod.

He was lounging in some sea grass, his hands resting behind his head. The grass was slimy and soft; the perfect texture for him to rest his scales on. The water got warmer this time of year. Even closed his eyes, enjoying the beam of light that broke through the surface. He felt himself begin to drift off peacefully.

“Even! EVEN!”

His eyes shot open and he sat up. He spotted his cousin Sirena swimming towards him with fear and worry on her face. Even frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“The Pulmari pod,” she puffed. “They’re trying to take our turf!”

Goosebumps rose on Even’s skin at the mention of the name. His heart pounded in his chest. “Is everyone okay?”

“The Pulmari trapped them in Magui cave,” Sirena said.

“ _Everyone_?”    

Sirena nodded sadly. “I got away before they could catch me. But they saw me, Even. They know someone’s out here.”

Even huffed, feeling an ugly rage surge through his entire body. They had made a grave mistake going after his pod. “Come on,” he said with determination. “We’re going to get our turf back.”

Sirena and Frank followed him purposefully. They dashed back to their turf as fast as the current would take them. The Pulmari were a vicious pod, poisoned with greed. They believed themselves to be above all creatures of the sea. The entire ocean belonged to them. Anything was theirs for the taking. Every pod in the seven seas was wary of Pulmari tyranny. The Osa were no acceptation.

Cruel laughter echoed through the Osa turf. Even and Sirena shared a wary look as they approached. A figure swam past them, a little too close for comfort. Even pulled Sirena close. They hid behind a moss-covered boulder. Frank faithfully stayed behind Even. Several mean looking Pulmari merfolk swam around their turf as if they belonged there. It was sickening.

Even felt a big, rough hand on his back. He gulped and looked over his shoulder. “Lost?” a big scary merman sneered. His tail was grey and dull like a shark’s. 

_Oh no._

The merman dragged Even and Sirena through their turf, towards Even’s family’s cave. Even felt his stomach drop. Were his parents alright? Had anyone been hurt? What had these sea slugs done to take over? 

“Look what I found,” Their captor called gleefully.

Another grey merman emerged from the dark to take in the group. He smiled coldly. His teeth had been sharpened to a point and his tail was damaged at the fins. “Ah, pretty girl,” he said to Sirena. She squirmed beside Even. “We wondered when ye’d be back. How nice o’ ya to bring a friend.”

“Leave us alone you barnacle,” Even spat.

Another cold laugh echoed through the mostly emptied cave. It got louder and closer until they saw a grey and white mermaid swim past. She rested at the scary merman’s side. “Feisty,” she laughed in a nasty tone. “This one thinks he’s a piranha. Isn’t he cute?”

“If you hurt anyone, I swear-”

“You’ll what?” the scary merman snarled. “You an’ little miss here are gonna beat us up an’ scare us away?” He swam closer, getting right in Even’s face to taunt him.

Even clenched his fists.

The big merman that still gripped his and Sirena’s arms sniggered. “Give it up, pretty boy. This turf’s ours now.”

“What would it take?”

The scary merman and his nasty mermaid looked surprised. “Huh?”

“What would it take to get you to leave us alone?”

Big merman huffed. “Not a damn thing, you little-”

“No, no,” scary merman interjected. A thoughtful look crossed his face. “This could be int-er-esting.” He swam around them while he thought. “It true one o’ you Osa has a…fascination with the surface?”

Even hesitated. Not a single merfolk in his pod approved of his interest in the surface world and its people. “ _I_ do,” he admitted.

The three Pulmari laughed together. “Reeeaaally?” scary merman crooned. He swished his battered tail. “You’re right, sweets,” he said to his girl. “This one is _cute_.” He got close enough that Even could smell his foul breath.

“Land people are even meaner than us, cutie,” the nasty mermaid said. “What’s so interesting ‘bout them hideous air breathers?”

Even shrugged, the same way he did when anyone asked him that very question. “They…they’re different to us. The way they live. They have different creatures up there.I don’t…they don’t look as bad as merfolk always say they are. I want to understand.”

The Pulmari laughed at him again. “You’re a real guppy, kid,” big merman said.

“If you’re so int-er-ested in the surface, kid,” scary merman began. He slowly swam closer, looking menacing. “Why don’t ya go take a visit up there.”

Even frowned. “What?”

Scary merman checked with his accomplices, nodding with malicious excitement. “You go up there for a while, until we say you can come back. If ya survive, we’ll let your pod go.”

“Wait, wait,” nasty mermaid cut in. She swam up beside her merman. Even noticed her eyes were yellow. “I got something good. You think the surface aint so bad? Why don’t you make a land person fall in _love_ with you?”     

The mermen chuckled conspiratorially. “Yeah, yeah,” big merman agreed. “That’s good.”

“Yeah,” scary merman put an arm around his mermaid. “You take your pretty face up there an’ make a land person fall in _love_ with you,” he stopped to laugh, “an’ _then_ we’ll give ya your turf back.”

“How…how long do I have?” Even asked.

Scary merman considered. “Tell ya what, kid. The full moon’s tonight. You got until next full moon to get it done, or this turf is ours. For good.”

Even gulped. He’d forgotten the full moon was tonight. Merfolk used the power of a full moon to recharge their own power. His pod would be very weak by next full moon if the Pulmari didn’t allow them to recharge. These barnacles didn’t seem like the considerate type.

“What’ll happen to our pod?” Even asked.

“You think you’ll fail?”

“You don’t have to do it, Even,” Sirena said kindly.

Even paused. He heard all the merfolk making fun of his surface interest when he was in school. He heard his mother scolding him for swimming too close to the pier. He heard his aunt warning him about boats and fishermen. He heard his father’s voice saying, ‘land people are loveless, cruel creatures.’ It was a bad idea. It was a terrible, awful, no good idea.

He looked at sweet Sirena and saw the fear all over her face.

It was his pod’s only chance.

“I’ll do it.”

Nasty mermaid gave him a sharp smile. “Fun!”

“This is gonna be good,” big merman laughed.

“Even,” Sirena tried. Even could feel the worry radiate from her.

“I can do it,” Even insisted. “I can do it.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince.

Scary merman clapped his sharp-nailed hands together. “There aint a fish in the sea that doesn’t like a good, easy bet. Big Zane, go with him to the pier. Hang around til time’s up. Gotta make sure cutie here plays nice.”

Big Zane let go of Sirena. Nasty mermaid quickly grabbed her. Even felt sick watching her squirm. “What are you going to do with her?”

Nasty mermaid pet Sirena’s blonde hair, making her flinch. “Don’t worry, cutie. This little mermaid is going in with the others til you get back. We won’t hurt a single orange scale on her pretty little tail.”

Even looked at his cousin seriously. “I’ll be back, Sirena. I’ll fix this.” 

“Stay safe,” she cautioned.

“Enough o’ the emotionals,” scary merman said with an exaggerated yawn. “Get ‘im outta here. Oh, and cutie,” he added just as Big Zane got ready to move, “You gotta get the land person to actually say they’re in _love_ with you, or it don’t count.”

“Good luck, baby blue,” nasty mermaid said. 

“Let’s go, kid.” Big Zane pulled Even away from Sirena.

They kept their eyes on each other until Sirena was out of sight.

They swam past Magui cave. It was guarded by several mean, sneering Pulmari. Even saw his mother inside, looking miserable. Her eyes widened when they landed on him. “Even!”

“It’s alright, Mamma,” Even called back to her.

“No time for family drama, guppy,” Big Zane grunted. He tightened his grip on Even’s arm.

Even tensed his jaw. He didn’t want to let this crab know he was hurting him. He watched his turf get further and further away, longing for it already. A long swim later, they neared the surface of Oslofjord. The water swirled as the current got stronger. Even could tell there was a storm above. He gulped. It would be difficult getting on land in a storm. 

Big Zane didn’t let go of Even until they broke through the surface. The waves were strong and the sky was dark. Even could only just make out the full moon.

“Good luck, guppy,” Big Zane taunted. 

Heavy rain hit their heads. “How am I supposed to get on land in this?”

Big Zane laughed at him like only a bully could. “Not my problem.”

Even sighed and turned around. The pier was several metres away. His heart sped up. This was the closest he had ever been to land. Amidst all the fear and urgency, Even felt excitement deep in his gut. He was finally going to the surface! He felt something tapping his tail. With a frown, Even dropped underwater. It was Frank!

“Frank,” he smiled, so glad he could cry.

The fish blew bubbles at him.

“Look after the pod for me.”

When he surfaced again, Big Zane had vanished. If the slug had any brains at all, he would be watching Even nearby.

Even rocked with the wild waves. They were getting bigger and more dangerous with each wave. The pier was completely deserted. _Maybe land people are scared of storms._ The waves carried Even closer and closer, higher and higher. He was pulled under and swept into somewhere new. An upside down cave? Some sort of pool? He resurfaced and looked around. _Oh my pearl._

The surface!       

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even will make a real splash on the surface, huh?  
> I'll see myself out.
> 
> Come say hi to be on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely


	2. Part of your world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discoveries, banter and lots of questions.

 

Isak didn’t have a lot of friends. Okay; he had exactly one friend. One very good friend was all you needed. That’s what his sister always told him. One true friend over twenty fake ones. Possibly just to make him feel better.

Jonas was Isak’s whole life. Maybe that was a little sad for an 18 year old. Isak didn’t care. There was no way he could accept losing his best (only) friend.

They were strategizing on his bedroom floor. A large piece of paper laid between them. “There’s no way we can afford a new building,” Jonas said, rubbing his eyes.

Isak pulled a face and crossed it off his idea list. “That’s out." 

Jonas yawned as he stretched out his arms. He arched his back. “Why is my life dependant on business?”

“You’re still on about all that capitalism stuff?” Isak capped his sharpie and placed it down on the paper.

Jonas immediately came to life. “I’m telling you, it’s destroying the world. It’s all death and suffering. Just look at all the lives that get ruined by money. Look at my family. It’s capitalism, man. It’s a poison.”

Isak nodded with a chuckle. “I believe you.” His smile quickly disappeared when he saw Jonas’s serious expression.

A sad silence sat between them. “I don’t want to have to close up.” 

“We’ll fix it,” Isak told him. He desperately wanted to believe it. “We’ll do something.”

They were silent for several more seconds. Believing and knowing were two very different things. 

“You wanna go for a walk?” Jonas stood up without waiting for Isak’s answer.

Isak stared at him, hoping for some pity on his lazy ass. Jonas was not the pitying type. Resigning to his fate, Isak got to his feet. He let out an extra drawn-out sigh so Jonas would know exactly how much of a hassle it was. “The things I do for you,” he said. 

Jonas raised his brows at him. “You can grow up.” 

Isak gasped in fake shock. “How could you say that?!”

That got a small laugh, at least. “Come on. We need fresh air.”

It was a nice day. The sun was out, the sky was blue and the day was warm- the perfect conditions for a walk. It was strange considering the previous night’s storm. Looking around, Isak saw no evidence there had been a storm at all. He squinted in the sunlight. Watching Jonas put his sunglasses on, Isak realised he didn’t bring any of his own.

Noticing his frown, Jonas gave Isak a look. “Is this really that hard for you?”

Isak quickly replaced the frown with his usual blank face. “No. I’m not _that_ lazy.”

Jonas raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. He bit his lip, clearly trying to stop a smirk.

“Oh come on!” Isak said. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Jonas shrugged. He looked like was going to say something but was interrupted by his phone ringing. He took it out of his pocket and smiled slightly when he saw the contact name. “What’s up?”

 _Probably the girlfriend._ Isak stared at a lamppost across the street and tuned out Jonas’s side of the conversation. It wasn’t that he was jealous- he’d gotten over his micro crush in second year. That didn’t mean he wanted to be anywhere near him when he got all lovey-dovey. Isak and Eva had never really clicked. It might have something to do with the fact that they hadn’t been in the same room for more than five minutes. Isak wasn’t in a hurry to change that any time soon. He wasn’t the best with people.  

“Detour,” Jonas said.

It took Isak a second to realise it was directed at him. He blinked and looked to his friend. “Huh?”

“Eva wants me to go put the pump in her pool.”

“ _Why_?” Isak moaned.

Jonas smirked at him. “Let’s go.” He started towards the closest tram station, Isak following along.

“Why do _we_ have to go do it?” If he was being forced to help, Isak figured he should be allowed to complain.

“She asked me,” Jonas said. “I owe her.”

“Yeah, but why did she ask _you_?” Jonas shook his head at him. “Like, why is it so urgent? Does it have to be done _right_ now?”

“Dude, the storm was really bad her way.” Jonas took his sunglasses off and put them back in his pocket. “The pool completely overflowed.”

“And she couldn’t fix it herself?”

“She said she forgot,” Jonas said, frowning slightly at Isak. “What’s with you lately?”

“What?”

Jonas shrugged. “You’re so like, moody lately."

 _Not like I don’t have a reason._ He decided that thought was best unvoiced. Jonas didn’t need to know every embarrassing thought that went through his head. Instead, Isak gave a lazy shrug. “That time of the month.”

“Dude,” Jonas laughed.

As they neared the tram station, they saw a tram coming to a stop. Isak shared a look with Jonas before charging towards the tram. It brought them back to their days in middle school when they would only just make it to class on time. The doors shut behind them a millisecond after they’d jumped on. Jonas gave Isak a low five. Isak grabbed the standing pole, trying to regain his breath. He rested his forehead on it.  

“You really do need get out more,” Jonas said.

Isak huffed a breathy laugh. “Shut up.”

 

*********

****

Isak followed Jonas to Eva’s house, having never been there himself. He figured he probably should have after their two years together. Now was as good a time as any. They stopped in front of a white house after a long walk. It was an impressive house near the waterfront. Apparently Eva’s mother did really well. Isak stared at the house while Jonas approached the front door.

“Coming?”

“Uh, yeah.”

He watched Jonas unlock the door. _Of course he’s got a key._ Isak was not jealous. He wasn’t.

All his thoughts disappeared as soon as he stepped inside. The interior was incredible. It was modern, well decorated and neat. If it weren’t for the personal trinkets, Isak would have thought it was a display home. He admired the nautical themed decorations he spotted. “Is she into the ocean or something?”

“Her mum is.” Jonas walked through the house like he belonged there. He pretty much did. It was the same way he walked through Isak’s house. Isak wondered what it must be like to be so sure of your own place. 

Jonas opened a cupboard and ducked under a lower shelf to search for the pump. His head completely disappeared as he moved things around. It sounded like there was a lot of junk in that cupboard. Isak stood back, unable to see what was going on. His mind began to wander again while he waited. He noticed photos of Eva and people he guessed were her relatives on the walls. He hated the way they made his heart clench.

“Aha!” Isak jumped, looking down to see Jonas crawl out of the cupboard. He held the pool pump in his arms. Isak grabbed his elbow and helped him to his feet. “Let’s do this.”

The outside was not as nice as Isak was expecting. In his admiration of the house, he had forgotten all about the storm. Stepping outside, he knew what Jonas had meant when he said it was worse over here. The back deck was dirty and wet, with pebbles and seaweed strewn about. A few lounge chairs were tipped on their sides. And the pool was indeed overflowed. All the annoyance Isak had felt at having to come do this slowly disappeared. “Shit,” he said.

Jonas nodded, pool pump still in hand. “Yeah.” He walked down a few steps to set up the pump.

Deciding he should at least _try_ to be useful, Isak went to lift the fallen lounge chairs. They were heavier than they looked, but Isak got them back up without much trouble. He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked over to see what Jonas was up to. He was standing over the pool, lowering the pump in with ease.

“You’ve done this before,” Isak observed.

“Eva always forgets,” Jonas said with a nod. “What…” He frowned and leaned over to get a better look at the water. 

“What is it?” 

“I thought I saw…” he shook his head. “Nah, man. Don’t worry.” 

The water swished and Isak saw movement underneath. “What the fuck?”

Jonas moved back to tie the pump chord around the leg of one of the lounge chairs. He exchanged an apprehensive look with Isak. They carefully walked closer to the pool.

There was another swish of water. Then another. Isak gulped and willed his heart to slow down. He saw a glow in the slightly murky water. “You see that?”

Jonas didn’t say anything, but he stepped closer, eyes on what Isak had seen. “Could be a pool toy.”

“That moves?”

Jonas shrugged. While they were busy looking at each other, they hadn’t noticed another bigger whoosh of water. “I’ll bet I know what it is,” an unfamiliar voice said.

Jonas’s eyes widened and he slowly turned his head to look towards the voice. Isak did the same, his breath stuck in his throat. He hadn’t planned on getting murdered today. What he saw had no explanation other than he must have slipped and hit his head.

At the end of the pool sat a young man about their age, naked on top. He lifted a glistening blue tail above the surface of the water. “I’d say it’s a merman.”

Isak and Jonas stared in stunned silence. This couldn’t be happening. “No way,” Jonas said, shaking his head.

“What the fuck!” Isak yelled, finding his voice again. This was it. He had finally lost it. He always knew the day would come.

The creature laughed and moved off the pool step. He swam closer to Isak and Jonas, eyes on them. His hands grabbed the edge of the pool in front of their feet. Everything about his top half was just like a regular human from what Isak could see. The blue tail, however, was unlike anything Isak had ever even dreamed of. He gulped, feeling uncomfortable at his proximity to the creature. “Um…Are you going to eat us?”

The creature laughed louder than before. “That’s what merfolk always wonder about land people.”

“So you won’t?”

He shook his head. “No, I won’t.” No one moved. “You can come closer. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”

Jonas slowly crouched down, eyes on the creature. Isak took in a breath and copied the movement. They were almost face to face with the creature. Isak observed fine gills on either side of his neck. Closer now, Isak took in his beautiful blue eyes. Could a monster really be so…pretty? 

The creature smiled, glee shining in his eyes. “Wow,” he said in amazement. “I’ve never been this close to a land person before.”

“Must be weird for you,” Jonas said wryly.

The creature nodded enthusiastically. “It is.” His face fell when he realised Isak and Jonas were still staring at him with great trepidation. And clear disbelief. “I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Even.”

“Your name is Even?” Isak asked. Even nodded, his smile returning. “But that’s a normal name. You know, for a…a fish.”

“I’m not a fish,” Even scoffed. “I’m a merman. Are all land people this dense?”        

Isak felt his face flush. “Excuse me,” he said indignantly. “I just met a fictional sea creature. I’ll try to be more polite next time.”

“We are not fictional,” Even retorted. That much was obvious. “We are discreet.”

“This doesn’t look very discreet,” Jonas said. Finally; a sensible thought. Isak was glad for his presence.

Even sighed, turning solemn. “I’m in trouble.”

Isak shared another look with Jonas. There was no way he wanted to be involved in whatever this was. He tried to shake his head at him discreetly. Judging from the unhappy look on Even’s face, he had failed.

Ignoring Isak’s pleading look, Jonas asked, “What kind of trouble?”

Even let out a breath he’d been holding in, grateful for the question. “The Pulmari pod took over my turf and the only way I can get it back is if I can make a land person fall in love with me.”

Isak and Jonas blinked at Even while he looked at them expectantly. “Okay,” Jonas said with a slow nod. Isak knew this was Jonas’s way to buy time when he didn’t know what to say. “Okay. What is ‘Pulmari’?”

Even huffed in frustration, opening his mouth to say something. He stopped himself and softened his expression. “You wouldn’t know about them on land, huh?” Isak and Jonas shook their heads in answer. “They’re the worst pod in the seven seas. If the Pulmari come after you, you’re shark bate.”

“Okay,” Jonas said, doing his thing again. Isak smirked at it. “What’s a pod?”

“You don’t have pods?” Isak blinked at Even, his face as blank as his mind. Even tilted his head, surprised and thoughtful. “But…do you have families?”

“Yeah,” Jonas answered before Isak had to. He was really glad for his presence. “Is that what a pod is?”

“Sort of. It’s more like…a school of fish. It’s when a big group of merfolk live together in their turf.”

“Like a community?” Jonas offered.

“I guess so, yeah.” He shifted his gaze between Isak and Jonas’s faces. “So? Will you help me?” 

“How about we start with names first,” Jonas said, stopping Isak before he said something stupid and offensive. “I’m Jonas.”

Isak was silent. Even stared at him with big, expectant eyes. Jonas elbowed him. “Isak,” he eventually muttered.

The big smile was back. Even’s teeth were impressively white for someone who probably didn’t use toothpaste. “Nice to meet you. Uh.” He let out a soft laugh. “It’s a little strange. I’m not supposed to talk to land people.”

“So why are you talking to _us_?” Isak asked.

Even blew out a breath. “I don’t know anything about the surface. And you’re here. If I’m going to make a land person fall in love with me, I’ll need help.”

“And you want _us_ to help you?”

Even scrunched up his face. “Please?”

When Isak turned to Jonas, he was already looking at him. Jonas raised his eyebrows at him and flicked his eyes back to Even. Isak tried to glare at Jonas, but Even’s earnest face got to him. Damn his humanity. He sighed deeply, hoping this wasn’t going to be a huge mistake. “Okay, yes. We can help.”

Even smiled wider than before, his eyes nearly disappearing with it. “Thank you! Thank you!”

Isak couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at the sight of Even bouncing in the water, doing his version of a happy dance. “Can you even come on land?”

Even stopped his bouncing around to nod. “Merfolk have all kinds of powers. We can grow legs when we’re dry.”

“Have you ever tried?” Jonas asked.

“Never. Merfolk are really cautious about the surface.”

Isak could imagine why. He stared at Even’s tail as he moved it in the water. The fin was a deeper blue than the rest. It was-

“Wanna touch it?”

Isak snapped his head up. “Huh?”

“You’re staring.”

“I want to touch it,” Jonas said. Even moved so he was side-on to the edge. Jonas crept closer and reached a hand out. He carefully ran his fingers over Even’s scales. He pulled his hand back to rest it on his knee. “It’s slimy.”

“Thanks,” Even said with a pleased smile. He raised his brows at Isak. “You can touch it too if you want.”

“Uh…” Isak wasn’t sure what the blush on his cheeks was from. He shrugged and reached down to touch Even’s tail. Like Jonas had said, it was slimy like a…well, like a fish. He took his hand back. “Yep. Slimy.”

Even’s smile grew. It had Isak wondering if all merfolk were this attractive.

“I should get out now,” Even said, thankfully interrupting Isak’s thoughts. The boys stood back to allow him room. Even firmly placed his hands on the edge and hoisted himself up. He pulled and wriggled until he was on the tiles beside the pool. His tail was even more magnificent out of water. “Is there something I can dry off with?”

“I’ll go get a towel,” Jonas said. He hurried back inside to grab one.

Isak felt uneasy again at being left alone with a real life merman. He cleared his throat, searching for something to say. “Why…uh, why did those guys take your…” he strained himself to remember what Even had called it, “turf?”

Even closed his eyes briefly. “The Pulmari are slugs. They do what they like.”

“What happened to the rest of your pod?”

He looked up at Isak sadly. “They trapped all one hundred of them in a cave.”

Isak twitched his lip, feeling bad but not knowing what to say. He’d never found himself in this situation before. What was the right way to comfort a merman? He settled on, “They sound like jerks.”

That put a smile back on Even’s face. “They are.”

Jonas came back holding a large beige towel. He tossed it at Even. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Even said. He smoothed his hand over it curiously. “It’s soft.”

“And absorbent.”  

“Of course,” Even remarked. He started with his hair, then his torso and finally his tail. He rested the towel in his lap as his bottom half began to glimmer.

Isak and Jonas stared on in awe as Even turned into glittering, floating water droplets. When he appeared again as flesh and blood, his long tail was replaced with long legs. “Whoa,” Jonas said. Isak didn’t have any words, but that about summed it up.

“Ha!” Even smiled down at his legs, turning them as much as he could to get a good look. “Legs! I have legs!”

“What else can you do?” Jonas asked. He looked like he still couldn’t quite believe it.

Even held a hand out towards the pool. The water swished and swirled as Even moved his hand. He lifted it and a water bubble the shape and size of a basketball formed above the pool. Isak stared at it, his mouth open and his eyes wide. Even smirked at their reactions and let the water fall back into the pool with a splash. He leaned away to avoid the splatter.

“Cool,” Isak said, his voice breathy and quiet. Even chuckled and got onto his wobbly feet. “Woah.” Isak turned his head away. It made sense that a newly transformed merman would be completely naked.

“Dude,” Jonas groaned, putting a hand over his eyes.

“Ha!” Even looked down at his body. Isak took a peak just in case Even had put the towel around himself. He had not. Instead, he was peering over his shoulder. “Check this out!” He turned around to give them a full view of his brand new butt.

“Use the towel to cover yourself, man,” Jonas said.

Even looked at him, confusion all over his face. “Why?”

“People don’t really walk around naked.”

“Oh.” Even laughed and picked the towel off the ground. He wrapped it around his waist. “That why you’re wearing,” he pointed at Isak, “those.”

“Clothes. Yeah.”

“You really don’t know anything about the surface,” Jonas said.

“Lucky you two can teach me?” He gave Jonas a silly face with big, innocent eyes.

“Come on,” Jonas motioned for them to follow him inside. “I think I left some clothes in Eva’s room.”

 

*********

 

Even staggered and gripped at Isak’s shirt to steady himself. Jonas held one arm while Isak held the other. After Even struggled into Jonas’s clothes, they decided to take him back to Isak’s. That meant they would have to drag a 6’4 toddler all the way there. He _was_ improving with every waddling step. “How do you do this all day?” he puffed.

Jonas pulled Even up when he fell on him again. “Years of practice.” 

“Hey, why are you up here, anyway?” Isak asked, hoping conversation might distract Even from his discomfort. “Like, why is it up to _you_ to save your pod?”

“I wasn’t there when the Pulmari took over,” Even said. He shifted himself upwards again. “They heard I was interested in the surface. So they gave me a challenge.”

“Kind of a weird challenge,” Jonas said. 

Even shrugged. He loosened his death grip on Jonas and Isak’s arms. “They like bets.”

“How long do we have?” 

“Til next full moon.”   

“A month. That’s doable.” Isak strained his neck over Even to look at Jonas. “Right?”

Jonas nodded. “A month is good. We should get you started right away, though.”

“What about her?”

They followed Even’s gaze across the street to Sonja, standing with two other girls. She was a cool older friend of Eva’s. And very, very beautiful. _Pretty things like other pretty things._

“Sonja?” Jonas said.

A smile played on Even’s lips. “Sonja,” he sighed dreamily. “She’s the one.”

“I don’t know,” Isak said, eyeing the girls. “Sonja likes really cool guys.”

“I can be cool,” Even said. Isak raised an eyebrow at him. “I can!”

“Why does it have to be the first girl you see?”

“Why not?” said Jonas. He adjusted the arm linked with Even’s. “She’s hot. Let’s go say hi.” Jonas dragged them across the street before Isak could protest any further. Sonja looked up at them as they approached her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said, smiling. Isak felt Even wobble. He tightened his grip on him. “You’re Eva’s boyfriend right? Jonas?”

“That’s me. She talks about me?”

Sonja nodded and rolled her eyes playfully. “Never shuts up about you. You must be quite a guy.” She turned her eyes on Isak and Even, giving them a polite smile. “Hi.”

Even lunged forward, out of the safety of Jonas and Isak’s arms. He stood way too close to her and smiled widely. “Hello! My name’s Even. You’re really beautiful.”

Sonja laughed, looking a mixture of confused, amused and just a little bit uncomfortable. Her friends laughed with her. She took a step back, lightly giggling. “Uh, hi. Sonja. Thanks.”

“I’m Camille,” one of her friends said. She was staring at Even the way girls always stared at the popular guy in cheesy teen movies. 

“Emma,” the other girl said. Isak swapped an awkward glance with her. They had hooked up once last year, followed by Isak desperately trying to ignore her. She left him some colourful messages and never spoke to him again. Isak wondered if there was a word for wanting the ground to swallow you up.

“Nice to meet you,” Even said with his big, stupid smile. He stumbled and Isak quickly grabbed his arm. 

Sonja and Emma frowned slightly while Camille continued to stare at Even like he hung the sun.

“Even’s a…friend from out of town,” Isak said quickly.

“Oh, where are you from?” Camille asked with way to much enthusiasm.

Even opened his mouth to speak, but Jonas cut in, “Drammen.”

Isak nodded his head once. “Drammen.” Even swayed beside him.

“Cool,” Camille said, using her fingers to twirl her hair. “Are you-”

“Well, we’ve got a tram to catch,” Isak said over her, ignoring her glare. He looked over at Jonas. “Should we go?”

Jonas gave him a knowing look. “Yeah,” he said anyway. Because he was a good friend. He looked back at Sonja. “Nice seeing you.”

Sonja and Camille nodded with polite smiles. Isak could have sworn he heard Emma sigh as if to say ‘thank God’. He could hardly disagree with her.

“Always,” Sonja said. She met Even’s eyes. “Nice meeting you." 

“Yeah,” Camille agreed hurriedly.

Even gave Sonja a blinding smile. “I had a lot of fun.”

Isak coughed to choke down his laugh. “Let’s go,” he said, dragging him away.

Jonas was right beside them, shaking his head. “Oh, dude.”

“What?” Even tried to look over his shoulder at the girls. He flashed them a smile. They heard some girly giggles in response.

“You are so hopeless.”

 

*********

 

A million and one years later, they had Even at the tram station. He was annoyingly giddy, bouncing around with excitement. He kept pointing at things and asking what they were. He tried to introduce himself to every person they passed. It really was like babysitting a toddler. He gaped when a tram stopped in front of them. “What is that?” he asked, eyes wide.

“A tram,” Jonas said.

They both tried to pull him forwards, but he wasn’t budging. “What does it do?”

“It takes us places,” Isak said, pulling Even’s arm. “Just get on.”

They managed to haul him on and sit him down. Even gasped when the tram began to move. He looked out the window in wonder. “Your legs won’t take you this fast.”

Isak wasn’t sure if it was a question or not. He answered nonetheless, “No.”

“How fast can you swim?” Jonas asked.

Even pouted his lips while he thought. “Mmm, I can go faster than a dolphin or a boat. And I swim all day and night without stopping.”

“Cool.”

“Should we really be talking about this in public?” Isak pointed out. They all looked around the tram, seeing five other passengers minding their own business.

Even leaned in closer. “Is it true about land people?”

“What?”

“Are you all this uptight?”

Isak narrowed his eyes at Even. His innocent look faded into a big smile. Isak really tried not to smile back. He was growing on him.

“Shut up.”

“But really,” Even said, his expression sobering. “Merfolk are always saying that land people are these cold, vicious killers. But you two don’t seem scary at all. Unless you’re planning to turn me into sushi.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Jonas said.

Even gave him a small smile. They sat in silence for a short while. “Do you think she liked me?” he eventually asked. “Sonja?”

“You made an impression,” Isak said.

“Is that good?”

Jonas raised his eyebrows and glanced at Isak. “You need to get used to talking to people.”

“Really?” Even sat back, thoughtful. “I thought it went well. Land people are weird.”

“Okay, fish boy,” Isak said.

Even rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’m not a fish.”

“No.” Isak leaned in to tease him. “You’re a _land boy_ now.”

Even faked a shudder. “The horror.”

“Why are you so interested in…in our world, anyway? What’s so great about it?”

Even shrugged. “It’s different from my world.”

“Didn’t you say we shouldn’t be talking about this?” Jonas asked with raised brows.

Isak flipped him off.

Even looked around at the people on the tram. “They all look more interested in those rectangle things than us,” Even said.

“Phones.”

“That’s what your phones look like? Weird.”

Jonas raised his brows again. “You have phones?”

“Yeah,” Even said, bopping his head. “Did you know you can hear the ocean through a sea shell?” Isak and Jonas nodded. “It works both ways.”

“Fuck off,” Isak scoffed.

“A shell phone,” Jonas said.

“A shell looks better than those rectangles. Why are they staring at them like that?”

Isak took his own phone from his pocket. “You can do things on it.”

“Things?”

“Yeah, like, play games or watch videos.”

“Or read things,” Jonas added.

“And you can send messages instead of calling so you don’t have to talk to anyone.”

Even frowned. “Why wouldn’t you want to talk to anyone?”

Isak shrugged. “Sometimes you don’t feel like talking to people.”

Even’s face transformed and he nodded like he really understood. “Yeah.”

Isak thought nothing of it. He opened up spotify and put in a search. “You can also play music on them.” He pressed play, holding back his smirk.

The song started and Jonas shook his head with a short laugh. “Really?”

Even looked at both of them, confused. “What?”

 

‘Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat?

Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?’

  

“It’s a song about a mermaid who wants to come to the surface,” Jonas told him.

“Is this you making fun of me?” Even asked.

Isak tried to look shocked. “Me? I’d never.”

 

*********

****

By the time they got back to Isak’s, all three boys were exhausted. Isak guided Even up to his room, where he threw himself on the bed. Even stood back, frowning before he copied Isak and dove next to him. Jonas plopped down on the space left.

Even rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. “This is so comfy,” he said, wriggling around. “You sleep on these?”

“Mmm hmm,” Isak murmured, his voice muffled by the mattress. He could feel himself drooling on it already. He sat up and wiped his mouth. “That took way longer than I thought,” he said to Jonas.

“Sorry I didn’t warn you about the merman,” he said back.

Isak looked down at Even and his expression of pure bliss. Right now he looked like an ordinary guy, though Isak and Jonas knew he was anything but. This was not what Isak had been expecting to do today. Or ever. It finally dawned on him that this was real. He was in his bedroom with a real life fantasy creature. _What. The. Fuck._

He met Jonas’s eyes. He seemed to have the same kind of thing running through his mind. _What are we doing?_

They looked down again when Even groaned. He sat up quickly, forcing Isak to move back. “These pants are tight,” he complained, trying to adjust them at the waist. He scrunched up his face in discomfort. 

Isak stood up. “You can have some of my clothes.”

“Are your pants this tight?”

“Some of them.” Even looked unimpressed. Isak threw his hands up in the air. “Sorry I don’t have designer shit.” He walked over to his tallboy and pulled open a draw. “We look about the same size.” 

“My clothes probably aren’t very clean,” Jonas thought aloud.

“Yeah, we know why they were on Eva’s floor,” Isak said.

Even looked down at his outfit. Isak tossed a new t-shirt and some sweat pants at him. Even smoothed his hand over the fabric and shrugged. He stood up and pulled Jonas’s old shirt over his head.

“Whoa, whoa,” Jonas said, getting to his feet. “I’ve already seen too much of you.”

He moved towards the door. Isak started after him before suddenly remembering something. He pulled open another draw and threw a pair of boxers at Even. Even caught them, looking at them curiously.

“Underwear,” Isak said. “You wear them under your pants.”

Even tilted his head. He shifted uncomfortably and pulled at the waist of Jonas’ jeans again.

“That’ll be better if you wear underwear,” Isak told him. “And I don’t want anyone free balling in my pants,” he added as an after thought. “Tell us when you’re done.” He shut the door behind him and rested his back against it. “Holy shit.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Jonas said.

“What the fuck, Jonas.” Isak pushed himself off the door and walked a few paces away from it. “What are we supposed to do?”

Jonas shrugged, looking way more put together than Isak. “We said we’d help him.”

“Without even thinking about it.” Isak rubbed his eyes. “I mean, he’s a mythical…thing. And now he’s in my room. Ariel is in my fucking room.”

“He seems harmless enough,” Jonas said.

Isak felt a small smile tug at his lips. “He’s completely clueless.” Jonas nodded with a smile of his own. “Does that mean we should help him? Are we bad people if we don’t? We don’t even know him.”

“Think about it,” Jonas said. “His home got taken away and now he’s all alone in a world he doesn’t understand. It’s like the plot of an oscar nominated film.”

Isak huffed a laugh. “A super pretentious one.” He sighed, feeling like their decision had already been made a while ago. “I guess it’d suck if we threw him out now.”

“Yeah,” Jonas agreed. They were silent for a beat. “We can do this. It’s only a month.”  

“Sure. We only have to teach a fairytale character about the real world. Easy,” Isak said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“He’s a good looking guy,” Jonas said. “At least he’s got that going for him.”

Isak felt his cheeks warm. It annoyed him. “I guess.”

They heard a thump from the next room. Isak sighed and moved for the door. He opened it to see Even on the floor under several of his text books. He looked up and gave Isak a guilty half-smile. “Sorry?”

Isak huffed another laugh. He grabbed the books and put them back on their shelf while Jonas helped Even to his feet. Even thanked Jonas and sank to the bed, sighing loudly. Isak turned back to him.

Even pointed and flexed his feet. “My feet are killing me. Do you ever get tired of walking around on them all day?”

“Why do you think there are so many places to sit?” Isak joked.

“Isak is too lazy to get tired,” Jonas said.

Isak narrowed his eyes at him. “You wouldn’t let me be lazy today, so now I _am_ tired.”

“What’s this?”

They looked to Even and saw him holding their brainstorming paper. “Oh that’s-” Isak began. He stopped himself, remembering it was not his story to tell. He cleared his throat, glancing at Jonas to check with him.

“My family’s business is going under, so we were trying to come up with ideas on how to save it,” Jonas ended up saying.

Even raised his eyebrows. “Your family business…” he said, almost as if to himself. “What kind of business?”

“Seafood.”

“Why are you…sorry, but why are you going out of business?”

Jonas sighed and walked around to the other side of the bed. He sat down, opposite Even. Even turned himself around to face him. “We aren’t making the money we need. We don’t get a lot of customers anymore.” He sighed again. “Consumerism is a joke.”

“What’s-”

“Don’t ask,” Isak said, shaking his head. He sat down next to Even.

Even thought for a moment. “What happens if you do have to close up?”

“We’ll have to move.”

“And you’ll go with them?”

Jonas shrugged, going for casual, but Isak could see the sadness in it. It made his own heart clench. “I’m 17. I can’t afford to live out of home.”

“Hmm.” They sat in silence. Suddenly, Even perked up. “This is good,” he said.

Isak frowned. “What?”

“Seafood, you said?” Jonas nodded. Even smiled brightly. “That’s good.” Isak and Jonas looked at him blankly. “I’m a merman,” Even said slowly. “I know fish.”

Jonas looked ready to brush off the suggestion before it was even made. “Nah, man. You don’t have to-”

“I don’t _have_ to,” Even interrupted. “Just like you guys don’t have to help me. But I want to help.” Jonas sat silent and unmoving. “Take me to your shop. I _know_ there’ll be something I can do. Who knows fish better than a-”

“Fish?” Isak joked.

“I’m not a fish!” He tried to shove Isak, but was too slow for Isak’s own hand lightly pushing away his shoulder. Even retaliated by giving Isak’s side a big pinch.

Isak flinched away from him, laughing. “Ow!”

Even grabbed Isak’s hands before he could hit back. Isak felt the stark contrast of Even’s cold hands on his warm ones. His hands were smooth like water. When he looked at Even’s face, he was looking at Jonas, who was lost in thought. “What do you say?”

Jonas looked up at him again and nodded slowly. “No harm in trying.”

Even smiled, letting go of Isak’s hands. “Awesome.” His smile dropped. “Sonja,” he said. “How can I make her love me?”

Jonas chuckled at him. “You can’t _make_ her do anything, man. Especially not a girl like her. You’ve gotta use your game and she’ll like you herself.”

Even looked perplexed. “How do I do that?”

“Talk. Get to know her. Flirt with her.”

“Have you dated anyone before?” Isak asked.

Even considered before nodding. “Sure, but nothing serious. I don’t know how different land girls are to mermaids.”

“They’re probably not much like Sonja,” Jonas said.

Even’s shoulders sank. His eyes flittered around while he thought. “You know her, don’t you?” Jonas nodded. “You said I need to talk to her. How can I see her again?”

Jonas took his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll text Eva. See what she knows.” He tapped out a message while Even watched.

“That’s so cool,” he said. “She can see that right away?”

“Yeah.”

His phone dinged and lit up with Eva’s text. Even jumped lightly at the sound. He relaxed and smiled bashfully at Isak when he laughed at him.

“Eva says she’s not seeing anyone,” Jonas said. He tapped out another message, quickly disappearing into his own world.

Isak watched him for a couple seconds, a small smirk on his face. He rolled his eyes when he realised Jonas was gone and turned back to Even. “You…you speak Norwegian,” he said. Even nodded with a small smile. “I would’ve thought you’d speak…I don’t know, fish or something. 

Even held in his laughter for a microsecond before bursting out. Isak rolled his eyes at him. “We know fish, but we don’t really talk to them. Or-” he corrected himself, “they don’t talk back. Merfolk speak every language known to man, dolphin and whale.”

“You can talk to dolphins?”

“Uh huh. They’ve got filthy mouths.”

“Dolphins?” Isak laughed.

Even nodded emphatically. “Only one thing on their minds.” He eyed Jonas’s phone. “Can you show me how those work?”

Isak took his phone out and handed it to Even. He taught him how to unlock it, hoping it wasn’t a mistake to give him his pass code. How much damage could he really do? He let him play around with some of the apps for a while until Even opened the front camera.

“It’s me,” he said, holding the phone close to his face.

Isak leaned over and flipped the camera. “There’s a camera on the back too.”

With an amazed smile, Even held the phone up to Isak’s face. “This is brilliant.”

“Like what you see?” Isak joked.

“You look great,” Even said.

“If you two are done flirting,” Jonas said, making Isak jump. He had kind of forgotten he was there. “I’m starving.” He stared at Isak.

Isak stared back. “I don’t cook.”

“I know,” Jonas said. “Why don’t we order something? What do you feel like?”

“Pizza?”

“Pizza’s always good.” Jonas was back on his phone, while Even looked at them expectantly.

“You’ll see,” Isak told him, seeing the question in his eyes.

An hour later, they were lounging in Isak’s living room, completely stuffed. Isak had decided he wasn’t done being a smartass and put on ‘The Little Mermaid’. Even was amazed at the technology, but quickly got distracted by the plot. He spent the whole movie criticising each and every detail they’d gotten wrong about merfolk and life underwater. Which was most things, apparently.

When the credits, rolled, Even turned to Isak, beaming. “That was great!”

“Seriously?” Isak said. “You wouldn’t shut up about how unrealistic and borderline offensive it was.”

“It was romantic,” Even said. He squinted. “They fell in love in three days. Does that really happen?”

“No,” Jonas said. It was a firm declaration. “Real people need time."

“What was it like with your girlfriend?”

Jonas stretched out his arms. “We were friends first. For a while.”

“Longer than a month?” Even guessed. 

“Way longer.”

“Hmm.” Even leaned back on his arms. “Well, then…can people really fall in love in a month?”

“I think so,” Jonas nodded. “Everyone’s different.”

Even turned his gaze to Isak. “What about you?”

Isak felt his cheeks warm. He willed them to cool. “I wouldn’t know."

Even didn’t ask him to elaborate. Isak was beginning to like him.

A ring tone interrupted the comfortable silence. Both Isak and Jonas reached for their phones. “It’s mine,” Jonas said. “Hello?” He turned his head to look out the windows. “Oh shit, yeah. I know. Sorry. Yeah. Okay, see you soon. Bye.” He tucked his phone into his pocket and got to his feet. “I’ve gotta go. I forgot I had to help mum with something.”

Isak checked his phone for the time. “Shit.” He got up. “What’ve we even been doing all day?”

Even jumped up next to him. “Me.”

Isak felt his face completely flush while Jonas laughed. “Oh, dude.”    

“See you tomorrow, yeah?” Isak asked.

Jonas clapped his hand to Isak’s. “Yeah.” He looked at a beaming Even. “What are we gonna do with him?”

Even elbowed Isak while he swayed on the spot. Isak rolled his eyes, unable to stop his smile. “He can stay with me.”

“Cool,” Jonas said. He gave Even a nod. “See you.”

"Bye Jonas,” Even called as he walked out the door.

“Later.” Isak walked over to lock the door. He rested his head on it. _Shit._ He suddenly felt very, very alone. As alone as a person could be with a merman in the room. The thought of being responsible for another person’s wellbeing made his stomach churn. Isak decided he’d probably make a terrible parent.

“I can find somewhere else if you don’t want me here.”

Isak turned around to see Even looking at him apprehensively. Despite being completely out of his usual environment, this was the first time Even had looked unsure. Isak softened at the sight. Damn his humanity.

“You can stay,” he said sincerely. “I can’t send you out there to fend for yourself.”

Even’s smile was back, bigger and prettier than ever. “Thanks, Isak. Really. I’m so glad it was you and Jonas that found me.”

Isak let out a short laugh and started gathering up the pizza boxes. “You’re alright.”

Even helped him clean up and wandered through the house after. Isak followed behind him closely. He answered all of Even’s questions as best as he could until he was all tired out. It was late by the time Even decided he was done exploring. Isak led him back to his room. Just like before, Even dove onto the bed.

Isak laughed at him. He pulled at the duvet under Even. “You’re supposed to sleep under this.”

Even sat up and shifted around so Isak could pull the duvet back. He settled himself under the covers. “To keep warm?”

“That’s it.” He started towards the door. “Night.”

“Where are you going?” Even asked

Isak turned back to him. “To the couch,” he said simply.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged and shifted his feet. “Privacy?”

Even sat up. “I don’t want to kick you out of your own bed.”

“My sister would freak out if she found a stranger on her couch.” He began to make his way out again.

“Wait,” Even called, his voice soft. Isak met his eyes. “Stay.”

Isak gave him a smirk. “Are you scared?”

“Maybe a little.” Even looked down at the duvet. When he looked up at Isak, his eyes were unsure again.

Isak’s smirk turned into a softer smile. “Makes sense.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Even joked. Isak heard the truth behind it.

“Promise.”

They smiled at each other.

“Will you stay?”

Isak played with a loose thread on his duvet cover. “Yeah.” He saw Even’s smile grow and tried to hide his own. “Okay, yes.” He walked over to flick the lights off and slowly made his way back to the bed. Isak pulled off his jeans, feeling more awkward than he ever had in his life. He carefully avoided Even’s body as he got under the covers. When his eyes settled against the darkness, he looked over at Even.

He was already looking at him. “Goodnight, Isak,” he said sleepily.

Isak watched his eyes flutter closed. “Goodnight, Even.”    

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did the ocean say to the beach? Nothing, it just waved.  
> I'm not sorry.  
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)
> 
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


	3. Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introductions, flirting and boners ;)
> 
> Check out the Once in a full moon playlist, [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/6yr78itaq8dirmhogtchd08zm/playlist/5NyR7aKUeNOOAuxitO1z8K?si=31G1ydP0QVmGYygNJbPMNw) on spotify!

 

Isak woke up alone. He squinted at the morning light hitting his face through the window. He stretched out his arms and legs with a big, satisfying groan. The bed was warm and comfy. He sighed contentedly, burrowing himself deeper under the covers. The best thing about summer -according to Isak- was getting to stay in bed as late as he liked.

He spread his legs out, taking up the entire bed. Something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t _there_. Isak opened his eyes and looked beside him to see empty space. _Even._ He sat up with a start. The previous day came back to him all at once. _I met a fucking merman._ But Even wasn’t in his room at all. Isak frowned, unsure if he should be relieved or disappointed. _Maybe it was a dream._

That thought deepened his frown before slowly turning into a soft smile. Isak relaxed his shoulders. It was a dream. There was no merman, and no magic, and no ridiculous bet, and no…Even. Why would that make Isak feel weird? He had only known the guy for a day. This was a good thing. He shouldn’t be disappointed. He wasn’t. Maybe.

Isak sank back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He could hear his sister in the kitchen. Maybe if he was nice enough, she’d make him breakfast. He got up with a sigh and stretched his arms above his head. His mind was awake, but his body wasn’t yet. Isak slowly trudged out of his room, grabbing his phone on the way. He heard laughter coming from the kitchen and stopped. It sounded like two voices. Isak made his way to the kitchen with a frown. He poked his head in the doorway, seeing Lea smiling at some guy. Isak was about to tease her about having boyfriends overnight when she spotted him.

“Isak,” she said with an all-too-familiar smile. It was her ‘you’ve been cheeky’ smile. Which of course meant she’d be up to something, now. _Oh good._

‘Some guy’ turned around and gave him an impossibly wide smile. “Morning,” Even said.

Isak was unable to stop his responding smile. So, it wasn’t a dream. _Okay then._

“We were just talking about you,” Lea said.

Isak groaned, throwing his head back. That was never a good thing.

“Yeah,” Even bopped his head. He was far too cheerful for the morning. “Lea said when you were small, you used to run around naked, yelling-”

“I’ve heard the story a hundred million times,” Isak interrupted, glaring at Lea. She raised her eyebrows at him, looking very satisfied. _Well played._

Even cocked his head to the side, looking weirdly like a Labrador. Isak almost laughed at the thought. “You don’t thing it’s funny? Baby Isak sounds so cute.”

Isak shuddered. “Baby Isak’s all grown up now.”

“Hardly.” Lea took a smug sip of her coffee.

“Must you torment me so?” he said dramatically.

Lea snorted and grabbed his arm. “May I have a quick word with you, dear brother?” She began to drag him out of the kitchen.

“If I don’t come back in five minutes, send help,” Isak called over his shoulder.

They stopped a little away from the doorway. Lea crossed her arms as best as she could with a half empty mug in her hand. She stared at him expectantly.

Isak cleared his throat. “Um, am I in trouble?” he asked.

Lea gave him a knowing smile, shaking her head. “Not in trouble. I just want to know who Even is.” Isak wasn’t sure whatever it was she thought she knew.

“He’s a…a friend.” Lea raised her brows at him again. “What?” Isak huffed.

“Nothing,” she said. Her expression said it was very much something. “Just let me know when you’re going to have friends stay the night, yeah?”

“Pft,” Isak scoffed.

“My house, my rules.”

“You never care when Jonas stays over,” Isak pointed out.

“I know Jonas,” Lea countered.

“Even’s kinda weird, but he’s not bad or anything,” Isak said.

“I know,” Lea said. “I like him.”

“Yeah?”

Lea nodded, her small smile growing. “He’s a charmer.” Isak frowned, remembering their run-in with Sonja yesterday. Charming wasn’t a word Isak associated with Even. ‘Absolute disaster’ sounded much better. Lea’s voice broke him out of his stupor. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re making friends.”

Isak felt himself flush. “Yeah, well.” He stepped closer to her, giving her his most innocent look. “Would you mind if he stayed with us for a while?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “How long is a while?”

“Til the end of the month.”

Lea choked on her coffee. Isak rubbed her back guiltily, trying his hardest not to laugh. He could be an idiot from time to time, but he wasn’t _that_ stupid. Eventually Lea settled, her hand on her chest. “Why does he need to stay for a whole month? Is he okay?”

Isak bit his lip, desperately racking his brain for a viable excuse. Lea was too smart for her own good sometimes. He needed something airtight. Isak didn’t like tricking her, but the truth was not an option. He was still finding it hard to believe himself. He blew out a breath and said, “Family issues. You know.”  

Lea’s face became serious and a little sad. It made Isak’s heart clench and his gut swirl unpleasantly. “Yeah. I know.” Isak almost regretted the lie, but Lea seemed to accept it, no questions asked. “He can stay.”

“Thanks.” Their eyes met, equally sad.

Lea reached over to give his arm a squeeze. The sudden weight on his chest lifted. It wasn’t a complete lie; Even _was_ technically having family issues. Not the kind that a regular human being has, but what Lea didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

“But _you_ have to feed him and walk him,” Lea said seriously. “And don’t forget to bathe him at least once a week.”

“He’s not a dog!” Isak laughed.

“If he’s a man, he may as well be.”

“You don’t want me to start with the ‘not all men’ crap, do you?”

“I’m kidding,” Lea laughed, holding her hands up.

Isak gave her side a poke. Lea squealed, smacking his hand away. He put his innocent face back on. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Ha!” She turned on her heels and headed for her room.

“Cereal, I guess,” he called after her. Lea flipped him off over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner. Isak smiled to himself and walked back into the kitchen. He braced himself. Even was moving around in the pantry. “Having fun?”

Even turned to him, holding a box of corn flakes. “Breakfast,” he said, pleased with himself.

It was so innocent, Isak felt his heart melt. “Breakfast,” he agreed. He got out the milk, two bowls and spoons. “Don’t you need to eat fish, or something?” Isak asked while he prepared their cereal. Even snickered, prompting Isak to snap his head up at him. “What?! I don’t know what a merman is supposed eat!”

“We normally eat crustaceans and recipes from the sea,” Even said, the remnants of his laughter lighting up his voice. “But we can eat anything you can.”

“How do you know that if you’ve never been on land?”

“I ate the pizza with no problem,” Even reminded him. “Plus, the merfolk around the pacific islands go on land all the time.” His smile was sad. “My pod aren’t their biggest fans.”

“Maybe you’ll change their minds,” Isak said. He pushed a bowl across the counter and picked up his own.

Even moved so he was standing right next to Isak. They were so close, Isak could feel his warmth radiating off him. Personal space was something they would definitely need to teach Even about. When he looked at him, Even’s smile was no longer sad.

Even picked up his bowl and tucked right in. Apparently he was hungry. Isak watched him scarf his breakfast down in amusement. Isak was still eating when Even set his emptied bowl down. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Good,” Even said, nodding at his bowl.

“I’m sure it doesn’t measure up to what you’re used to.”

“I liked it,” Even insisted.

“Okay,” Isak chuckled.

Even watched him finish off his own cereal. “Lea’s really nice.”

“She is.” And she was.

“Is it just you and her?”

Isak felt his face drop and he hated it. He hated how it burned so much. He hated watching Even’s face drop too. He grabbed the bowls and walked to the dishwasher, not wanting Even to see his tightening jaw. “Just us.”

The air grew thick. Even seemed to pick up that he was wandering into unwanted territory. Maybe he wasn’t as clueless as Isak thought. He was quiet while Isak put the bowls in the dishwasher. Then, when he was done; “I like her.”

Isak relaxed, but kept his back to Even. “So do I, sometimes.” He had never been happier to hear his phone ping. He picked it up off the counter and brought up Jonas’s message, ignoring his other notifications.

 

 **Jonas:** Hey, Issy K. I’m at the shop today

               You can bring Even by if he’s still alive

 **Isak:** I told you to never call me that again

 **Jonas:** Your mistake

 **Isak:** Dick

 **Jonas:** You love me

               Are you coming?

 **Isak:** We’ll be there in an hour maybe

 **Jonas:**  ✌️

 

Isak looked up at Even. He was leaning back on the counter, watching him. Isak cleared his throat. “We’ve gotta get ready.”

Even perked right up. “Where are we going?”

“Jonas wants us to go to the shop. Come on.” Isak walked back to his room with Even on his heels, throwing questions about the shop and Jonas and everything in the whole wide world. Isak had never heard one person ask so many questions. Not even a bratty kid. He figured Even might as well be a kid.

Isak tossed him some clothes and found him a spare toothbrush. When Isak came back from the shower, Even was sitting on the bed, dressed and ready to go. It was a pleasant and welcome surprise. He wasn’t a complete toddler after all. _Good to know._

Even shifted, scrunching up his face. “What?” Isak asked.

“Tight pants.” He was still kind of a toddler.

“I wish I could go out in sweat pants too, but it makes you look homeless, apparently,” Isak said.

“Who told you that?” Even said, sounding incredulous.

Isak was glad he wasn’t the only one who felt personally attacked by society’s opinion of sweat pants in public. “A jerk.” Even giggled. Isak tucked his wallet into his pocket and searched for his phone. He couldn’t for the life of him remember where he’d put it. “Have you seen my phone?”

Even held it up. “Here.”

Isak eyed him suspiciously and took it. The screen displayed an instagram picture of a dog. Isak frowned, noticing the heart underneath. He tapped the user name and was greeted with pictures of Sonja and her friends. Isak tapped several pictures, seeing a heart under each one. He squinted at Even. “Did you like all of Sonja’s pictures?”

“Yeah.” He was beaming. “She’s so cool.”

Isak closed his eyes. He sucked in a breath, held it for a beat, then let it out. “You can’t like things with someone else’s account.”

Even looked at him blankly. “Why?”

Isak sighed. “Because…because when you like things, people will think I did it.”

“So?”

“ _So_ , she thinks _I’m_ a stalker, now.”

“Can you make me an account, then? I don’t mind being a stalker.” Even’s face was so earnest, Isak couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“Yeah,” he chuckled, making Even smile. “I can make you an account. How did you even find hers?”

Even shrugged and got to his feet. As always, he stood way too close to Isak. “I looked.”

“You didn’t even know what instagram was until yesterday.”  

Even gave another shrug. “I’m a fast learner.”

“You better hope so,” Isak muttered. “Anyway. Let’s go.”  

 

*********

   

Isak managed to drag Even all the way there with no problems. Even wasn’t kidding when he said he was a fast learner. He was walking like he’d been doing it all his life. Isak was impressed. He told him as much.

Even waggled his eyebrows at him. “It helps when you’re a genius.”

Isak snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, you’re Stephen Hawking on red bull.” Even titled his head. Isak shook his. “Never mind.”

“I’m going to take it as a compliment,” Even said decidedly.

Isak felt the corners of his mouth turn up. They walked in companionable silence until they reached Vasquez Fish. Sonja and Camille walked out of the shop just as Isak and Even stopped in front of it. Both girls flashed them polite smiles when they recognised them.

Even’s smile was the widest of the three. “Hey,” he greeted cheerfully.

“Hey,” Sonja said, eyeing Isak oddly. He was going to frown at her before he remembered why. Isak wanted to die.

“Hi,” Camille chirped, her eyes big and dreamy. It was kind of a pity Even hadn’t chosen her. He probably would have won already.

“Nice day,” Even said.

Sonja nodded and looked at the sky. “It is.”

“Buying some fish?”

“Yep.” Sonja gave the bag in her arms a bounce. “Cod. Emma’s favourite. It’s her birthday tomorrow.”

“Wish her a happy birthday from us,” Even said sincerely. Isak noticed a slight tint on both Sonja and Camille’s cheeks. Maybe this was going to be easier than he and Jonas had anticipated. “I think she’ll have a really good day.”

Sonja smiled and shifted her feet. “Oh yeah?” She was standing a step closer to Even. Being the personal space expert that he was, he didn’t seem to notice at all.

“If she’s going to see you, it’ll be a good day.”

_Did he just._

Isak held his breath while he awaited Sonja’s reaction. He wasn’t sure if that was a great line or a terrible one.

Sonja stared at Even for a couple seconds and then let out a laugh. “That was pretty good,” she said. Camille looked like she’d gotten the wind knocked out of her.

Even raised his brows at Sonja. “Not bad, huh?”

“You’re really smooth today.”

“And I wasn’t yesterday?”

Sonja chuckled and shifted her feet again. “I wasn’t exactly swept off my feet.”

“Speak for yourself,” Camille said. Sonja gave her arm a pat, clearly amused.

Even stared at her intensely. “What about now?”  

Sonja blinked and tilted her head back, considering. They didn’t break eye contact. Isak suddenly felt like he shouldn’t be there. “Not yet.”

“Will you think about letting me?”

Sonja flashed him a smile. “You could give it a try.”

Isak felt his own cheeks flush. They were flirting. Oh dear Christ, they were flirting and Isak understood what Lea had meant when she said Even was charming. That was good, all things considered, but still. Camille may have been happy to gawk at them, but Isak wanted to be anywhere else. He wondered if this whole thing was going to be another Jonas and Eva replay. Admittedly, that was very different. He had no reason whatsoever to be jealous of Even and Sonja. That didn’t mean he wanted to be standing right next to them while they made eyes at each other.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m gonna go say hi to Jonas.”

“See you in a sec,” Even said.

“Bye,” Sonja said with her polite smile. Camille ignored him completely, which suited him just fine.

Isak slid past them and pushed the door open. He exhaled once it closed behind him.

“Isak!” Julie Vasquez approached him with a big smile and open arms. She gave him a big hug, which Isak gladly indulged in. She was good at hugs. All mothers were. Hers were always bittersweet to him. She pulled back, still holding onto his arms. “You haven’t grown again, have you?”

Isak gave her a smile and shrugged. “Not since last week, I don’t think.”

“You should come by more,” she joked. She put her hand on his back and led him away from the door. “Jonas says you’ve got a friend staying with you.”

“Even,” Isak said. “He’s outside.” He leaned in closer to say, “Talking to a girl.”

Julie let out a short laugh. “He’s not wasting any time, is he?”

“Heh.” _If she only knew._

“Jonas!” she called in her ‘mum voice’. “Isak’s here!”

There was some shuffling from the back and Jonas appeared seconds later, wearing an apron and gloves. He pulled off his right glove to clap his hand to Isak’s in greeting. “Hey. Where’s Even?”

“Talking to _Sonja_ ,” Isak said with a smirk.

“She’s here?”

“We got here just as she was leaving. He’s flirting.”  

Jonas raised his big brows. “You’re kidding.”

“He’s not bad, actually. I had to get out of there.”

“He _has_ got his looks,” Jonas mused. 

The bell rang behind Isak. He turned to see Even stepping inside with a big grin on his face. “How’s it going, lover boy?” Isak teased.

Even chuckled, looking flustered. “She’s so…I can’t even describe it.”

Isak shook his head, smirking at him. He wondered if he’d ever know what that felt like.

Julie held her hand out to Even with a smile. “Hi there. I’m Julie, Jonas’s mum.”  

Even shook it, his smile wide and happy. “Even. It’s so nice to meet you.” He looked at Jonas. “Hi.”

Jonas gave him a nod. “Even’s a fish expert,” he told his mother.

“Is he?” She looked at Even with interest.

“Uh huh,” Even nodded. “I know everything there is to know about the sea.”

“That’s really interesting,” she smiled at him, impressed. She put and arm around Jonas and squeezed his shoulder. “Jonas is only interested in skating and politics.

“That’s not true,” Jonas said.

“Isn’t it?”

He shook his head, making his hair shake. “I’m into FIFA, too.”

Julie huffed and pushed him away playfully. “I’ll leave you boys alone,” she said, backing away. “If a customer comes in, you know what to do.” She disappeared into the back.

“You didn’t tell her I’m here to help?” Even asked.

“I don’t want to get her hopes up.”

Even gave his shoulder a friendly pat. He was always so understanding. For a fish. “You gonna show me around, or what?”  

Jonas took Even through the shop, showing him their displays, then the supply and storage at the back. He explained everything as they walked around. The shop was small, but they had a lot more than Isak had ever noticed. He’d never paid this much attention to it. Even was fine with all the crustaceans, but he did go a little white seeing all the fish in ice.

“You okay?” Isak asked.

Even gulped and nodded slowly. “I’m okay.”

Isak rubbed a hand up and down Even’s back to soothe him. They brought him outside for some fresh air while Jonas explained the business side. He only ranted a little bit. “Mamma thinks we need a makeover, but we can’t pay for a complete renovation,” he said. “She’s right, but there’s no way it’ll fix everything.”

“Maybe you don’t need to change that much,” Even said, breathing evenly. Isak rubbed his back some more. “Some paint, a new sign and a few knick-knacks could do more than you think.”

“You should tell her that,” Jonas said. “She’ll love you.”

“Maybe I should’ve gone after her,” Even joked.

Jonas gave him a light shove and laughed. “Oi.”  

They waited while Even thought for a while. “Where do you get your supply?”

“My uncle has a boat, so we get our own.”

“Do you ever go out with him?”

“Sometimes, but not usually. My cousin Lukas and another guy usually go.”

Even asked him about where they fished and how they did it. Jonas told him the few spots they fished at, what equipment they used and a number of other things Isak didn’t understand. Isak tried his best to follow along, but he knew absolutely nothing about fish. He was impressed at how much Even seemed to know about boats and nets. It made sense, really. _Must be helpful for a merperson to know._

“I know some better spots,” Even told Jonas. “Places where there’s a bigger variety of fish. And I know what times are best to go out.”

“Karl’s going out next week,” Jonas said. “We can go with him, if it’s not going to freak you out.”

Even straightened his shoulders. “I’ll be fine.”

Isak felt a small smile pull at his lips. Even was one brave fucker. That, or he was really stupid.

“You looked like you were going to pass out in there,” Jonas said.

“Yeah,” Even sighed. “It’s just…what merfolk always say about land people…and seeing the fish like that. That could be me one day, you know?”

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Jonas said. It was so honest and genuine that Isak felt his own heart warm. That was one of the things Isak had always liked about him; his loyalty to his friends was unwavering. Even one he’d just met, it seemed.

Even blinked slowly and smiled at him.

“There are a lot of bad people in the world,” Jonas went on. “But there are even more good people.”

Isak’s gut churned with something ugly. It could take only one bad person to change your whole view of the world. One cruel action to make the world seem dark. One mean comment to ruin your day. It took only one bad person to cloud everything else.

He looked at Even’s smile and felt himself relax. It also took only one good person to make your entire day brighter.

“Oh!” Even said, remembering something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small strip of paper. “Sonja gave me her number. So I can message her and stuff.” He was beaming with excitement like a kid at Easter.

“Nice,” Jonas said, impressed. “You got game after all.”

“Land girls don’t have tails, but they’re not that different to mermaids,” Even said.

“Right,” Isak said. “But who gives out their number on paper anymore?”

“I don’t have a phone, so.”

“You should use Isak’s,” Jonas said. Isak raised a brow at him. “No one calls you, anyway.”

“Shut up,” Isak laughed.

 

*********

The three of them were in Isak’s living room the next day. Even was sprawled on the floor while Isak and Jonas leaned against each other on the couch.

“I love this,” Even said. He had been playing with Isak’s phone for hours.

“I never would have guessed,” he said.

Even poked his tongue out at him. “Check it out,” he said, holding the phone up to him. “I already have 6 followers.”

“I remember being excited about things like that,” Isak said. “They were simpler times.” Even nudged Isak’s foot with his own.

“My mum really liked you,” Jonas said.

Even smiled proudly. “I liked her.”

Jonas gave him a mock-pointed look. “You stay away from her.”

Even laughed, his countenance light and happy. Everything was light and happy that afternoon. Was that another merman power?

“Should I talk to Sonja?” he asked.    

“Is that too desperate?” Isak asked. “You already messaged her last night.”

“Psh.” Jonas sat up straighter. “You don’t have time to worry about being desperate. You need to hang out with her.”

“Hang out just like this?” Even asked. “I like this.”

“Yeah, but maybe not at her house,” Jonas said. “She might not want a guy she just met in her house.”

“Should we go to a park or something?”

Jonas nodded. “That’s good.”

“Yeah, we can watch you from afar. Give you advice through an earpiece,” Isak joked.

“You _could_ come,” Even said.   

“I was kidding.”

“I know, but you could come anyway. In case something happens.”

“What could happen?”

Even shrugged. “The sky could fall.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Jonas said. Isak was a little salty he stole his opening for a sassy comeback. “Just to keep watch.”

Even brought up his conversation with Sonja. “What should I say to her?”

“Ask her how her day’s been,” Isak said. “Girls like that shit.”

“Not just girls, man,” Jonas said. Isak rolled his eyes at him.

Even tapped out a message and waited. They all stared at the screen in silence. Several seconds later, Sonja’s reply came through. It said that Emma had had a good birthday.

 

 **Even:** I told you she would

     **Sonja:** Haha. Being smooth again, I see

    **Even:** Is it working?

   **Sonja:** Keep trying

    **Even:** Ouch

             Would it be better in person?

    **Sonja:** Straightforward

    **Even:** Is that okay?

 

All three held their breaths.

 

    **Sonja:** Why don’t we meet at Vaterlandsparken tomorrow and you can try to impress me

    **Even:** I promise I’ll do you proud

    **Sonja:** Does 13:00 work?

    **Even:** Perfect

    **Sonja:** I’ll see you then

    **Even:** Looking forward to it

    **Sonja:** That’s embarrassing

    **Even:** You’re a heartbreaker, you are

    **Sonja:**

             ****

Even looked up from the phone excitedly. “I’ve got a date!”

“Not bad, dude,” Jonas said. He nodded his head in approval.

“How weird is it that she suggested a park first? Like, we were _just_ talking about it,” Isak said.

“Maybe she’s psychic,” Even joked. His giddiness was all over his face.

“I don’t think you’ll need that much help,” Jonas said. “You got game.”

“Will you come anyway?”

Even looked so happy and hopeful, it was impossible to refuse him. Jonas nodded at Isak. “Yeah. We’ll come,” he said.

Even’s smile took up his entire face. “It’ll be just like a movie.”

 

*********

“Isak,” a voice whispered.

Isak groaned and pulled his duvet tighter around him.

“Isak,” the voice was louder and more urgent.

Maybe if he pretended he was still asleep, whoever it was would leave him alone. No such luck. Isak felt himself being shaken.

“Isak!”

He opened his eyes grumpily. “Ugh! What?” Even’s face was right in front of his. Isak flinched. “You shouldn’t get so close to people,” Isak grumbled in a sleepy voice.

Even pulled back. “Oh. Sorry. But, look at this.” He got up on his knees and gestured down to his groin.

Isak’s eyes trailed down until he saw- “Oh!”

Even sat back on his heels. “What’s happening?”

Isak smushed his face into his pillow and laughed. He looked back at Even, carefully avoiding his dick. Isak was so glad he was wearing boxers. “It’s okay,” he said as evenly as he could.

“This is normal?” Even looked down at himself curiously.

Isak nodded, his body shaking with laughter. He suddenly felt a lot more awake. “It happens,” he said. He pulled himself up to a seated position with an old man’s groan. “It’s called a boner.”

“What am I supposed to do with it?” Even poked himself and flinched away.

“Well, normally you use your dick for sex. But when it’s just you…” he leaned in to whisper something in Even’s ear.

“You want me to do what?”

Isak laughed at the look on his face. “I don’t _want_ you to do it. But that’s usually what you do with a boner.”

“Usually,” Even repeated. “But not always?”

“Well, if you don’t want to, you can take a shower or do something else to take your mind off it. It goes away eventually.” Even visibly relaxed. Isak laughed at him again. “I’m not even going to ask what mermaid sex is like.”

“Maybe I’ll tell you some time,” Even teased.

They grinned at each other and Isak felt his face grow hot. He squirmed uncomfortably. This was a first. A beyond weird first. “Can you…can you take it somewhere else?”

“Oh.” At least Even had the decency to blush as well. He scooted to the edge of the bed and got to his feet. “I’m gonna…I’ll go to the bathroom.”

Isak watched him awkwardly shuffle out of the room. When the door shut, Isak fell onto his back and laughed some more.

 

*********

“Dude,” Jonas complained.

“Did you know what yours was the first time?” Even asked him.

Jonas shook his head, laughing. “I’m not going to talk about my past boners with you.”

Even shrugged helplessly. “Land people are weird.”  

“Sure, _we’re_ weird,” Isak said.

Even gave an exaggerated nod, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m kind of nervous,” he said after a while.

“You got this,” Jonas said, giving his back a single pat. “You two know how to flirt. Just be yourself.” Isak gave him a look. “Minus the tail. And all the ocean talk.”

“And boner talk,” Isak added.

“If you bring up your dick, she’ll kick you in the nuts and run,” Jonas said.

Even put both hands over his groin and recoiled. “Ouch.”

“No one who’s gotten kicked in the balls didn’t deserve it,” Isak said.

“You’ll be fine,” Jonas assured him, taking in his distressed face. Even relaxed.

“Just don’t be an idiot,” Isak teased.

Even poked his tongue out at him. His eyes lit up when they landed on something. Isak followed his line of gaze and spotted Sonja. Even took in a breath. “Here goes everything.”

“We’ll be around,” Jonas told him as he walked away from them.

They watched him approach Sonja with what appeared to be cool confidence. Isak wondered how he was able to keep all his nerves hidden like that. Had he secretly been shitting his pants the entire time he’d been here? They may never know.

Sonja looked happy to see him. They went to sit on the grass with the coffees she brought. Even looked over his shoulder and gave them a conspiratorial wink. Isak smiled involuntarily at it. _This guy._

“Should we sit?” Jonas asked.

Isak shrugged and followed him to a spot several metres from Even and Sonja. They made sure they could still see them, but if Sonja looked around she probably wouldn’t spot them right away. Isak plonked down and crossed his legs next to Jonas. He was bored already. “I don’t get why we have to sit here for this.”

“He asked us to,” Jonas said simply. Isak sighed like this was the most inconvenienced he’d ever been in his life. “Come on. You wouldn’t do this for me?”

Isak rolled his eyes. “I’ve known you for a million years,” he said.

“You know Even better than I do,” Jonas said. “He’s alright, isn’t he?”

Isak glanced over at Even. His head was thrown back in laughter. They could only just make out the sound. Isak felt warmth spread in his gut. He met Jonas’s eyes, remembering he was still waiting for an answer. “Yeah,” Isak said, cheeks warming along with his tummy. “He’s alright.”   

“Jonas!”

Eva and her friends were walking towards them. They were each holding a frozen yogurt cup. Isak had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. _Why._ He wasn’t too keen for company.

Jonas gave Eva a big, lovesick smile and stood up. “Hey.” He grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a quick kiss.

It didn’t make him feel sick like it used to, but Isak still looked away like always. He climbed to his feet and locked eyes with Eva’s friend, Chris Berg. She was sucking on her spoon, looking like she wanted to eat him. Isak gulped, eyeing her the way he imagined zebras looked at preying lions. She turned the spoon over in her mouth, gliding her tongue over it while staring right into Isak’s soul. He couldn’t look away.

“Hey, Isak,” Eva said.

Isak blinked and turned to her, glad for the interruption. “Hey.”

“Hi, girls,” Jonas said to Eva’s friends. They each offered their greetings to both boys.

“What are you guys doing?” Eva asked.

Jonas gestured over at Even and Sonja. They were sitting closer than they had been before. Isak didn’t know why, but the sight kind of annoyed him.

“Even wanted us to be his wingmen,” Jonas told Eva.

“He’s Isak’s friend?”

“That’s the one.”

A look of realisation came over Eva’s features. She grabbed Jonas’s arm. “That’s why you were asking about her.” Everyone looked at the couple in the grass again.

“He must be a really cool guy,” Vilde said. “I heard Sonja doesn’t go for just anybody.”

“That’s what I said,” Isak said. He felt a flush coming on when everyone looked at him with curiosity. They all knew each other, but Isak had never actually gotten to know any of them. Deciding that he was going to roll with it, Isak added, “When he said he wanted to go for her, I told him he’s probably not cool enough.”

Vilde blinked at him and flicked her head towards Even. The movement made her ponytail swish. “Well…he is super hot,” she said.

“He is,” Chris agreed.

The other girls giggled at them. “It isn’t all about looks,” Noora said. Isak thought she sounded like a nagging mother. Or an older sister.

Vilde scoffed. “It is a little about looks.”

“And he’s got them,” Chris said. She was staring at Even the way she had been looking at Isak. He was glad he was no longer the focus.

“He’s new or something?” Sana asked.

Isak quickly glanced at Jonas. “He’s a friend of the family’s.”

“From Drammen,” Jonas added.

“Drammen.” Isak gave a single nod.

“I have some cousins from Drammen,” Vilde said enthusiastically. “Maybe he knows them.”

“It’s a big city, Vilde,” Sana said.

She gave her a shrug. “Still. It’s a small world.”

“That can be nice,” Eva said. She leaned in closer to Jonas so he could put an arm around her.

Sana was the only one who rolled her eyes. Isak thought he could like her.

“Will he be going to Nissen?” Vilde asked.

Isak shook his head. “He already graduated.”

Vilde bit her lip, her shoulders slumping. “That’s too bad.”

The group got to talking about who knows what. There was some gossip about other schools and russ talk and summer plans. Isak wasn’t listening too closely. Eventually, he tuned out completely. He ended up standing a little away from the rest, like he always did. Sana came to stand next to him.

They stood in silence for a couple seconds. “Not into groups?” Sana asked. It was interesting; Sana asked questions like she already knew the answer. Isak wasn’t sure if he found that comforting or intimidating. It was a little bit of both.

He shrugged. “Not usually. I’m working on it.” He looked over his shoulder at Jonas and the girls talking animatedly. He gave Sana a wry smile. “Kind of.”

Sana nodded slowly. “Me too, sometimes.”

Isak met her gaze. It was honest and kind. He saw strength there as well. He gave her another small smile. This one was more genuine than the last. She took it in before returning it. Isak liked her.

They got into a discussion which turned into a light argument about biology and physics. Isak never really had these kinds of conversations with anyone else. It filled him with energy, making him feel almost like a different person. Strangely, he could see himself being friends with Sana. She brought out a side in him he hadn’t bothered to explore since he was a kid. Since before everything got fucked up.

They were still talking when Noora called Sana’s name. “We’re going now.”

Sana nodded at her. “We’ll continue this,” she said to Isak.

He gave her a smirk as she backed away. “I’m right.”

“You’re not.”

“Bye, Isak,” the girls called to him.

“See ya,” he called back. Chris gave him a wink and turned around to walk with her friends. Isak stared after her.

He hadn’t noticed Jonas standing next to him until he spoke. “What was with that?”

“Huh?”

“Chris staring at you.” He was laughing.

Isak felt himself begin to laugh. He shook his head. “I guess I’m just irresistible.”

Jonas looked over at Sonja and Even again. “ _He_ might be.” Isak followed his gaze. Sonja was laughing with a hand on Even’s upper arm. “Looks like it’s going well.”

Isak looked at his phone. They had been there for a while. He squinted at the pair. “What’s up with the insta-love thing?”

“It’s called attraction, Isak,” Jonas said. “She’s not in love yet. But we do want her to be.”

Isak dug the toe of his shoe into the ground. “If…if he needs to get her to fall in love with him to save his pod, what happens when he succeeds? Like, is he just gonna say ‘thanks’ and leave forever?”

Jonas shrugged. “We’ll have to ask him. That’d suck.”

Four and a half minutes later- Isak counted every excruciatingly boring second- Even ran over to them, a huge smile on his face. “Fish boy has returned,” Isak joked.

“I’m not a fish.” Even was in too good of a mood to roll his eyes at Isak. “Oh, man,” he sighed dreamily.

“You like her?” Jonas asked with a smirk. Even nodded. “Does she like you?”

“We’re gonna meet again.”

Isak raised his brows. He was surprised it was going so well, so fast. He had expected at least _some_ trial and error. “When?”

“She said she’ll text me.”

“Will she?”

Jonas nodded, looking confident. “She will.”

“Yeah?” Even looked so excited, Isak couldn’t help but feel happy for him.

“You’re impressive, man. She’ll message you.”

“What did you talk about for so long?” Isak asked.

Even pouted his lips, thinking. “Our families. Fish. Loads of other stuff. We flirted a lot.”

Isak gave him a pointed look. “You did not talk to her about fish.”

“She likes the ocean,” Even shrugged. “She thought all my _expert_ knowledge was interesting.”  

“Alright, Romeo,” Jonas said, putting an arm around them both. “I’m starving. Anyone for a kebab?”

“Who would say no to a kebab?” Isak said.

“No one,” Jonas said ardently.

Isak could hardly argue with that. Not when his stomach was growling embarrassingly loud.

 

*********

Sonja messaged him. And Even saw her again. This time, he didn’t need Jonas or Isak there.

Even spent way too long on his hair. He had found some of Lea’s old moose and decided to play around. “I think that’s enough,” Jonas said.

“Are you sure?” Even asked anxiously.

“You look fine,” Isak told him.

“Just fine?”

Isak rolled his eyes and grabbed his shoulders. “You look great.” He pulled him away from the mirror and led him to the front door. “Now, go!”

Even took in a breath and straightened his shoulders. “I got this.”

“You do,” Jonas said from beside Isak.

He gave them both a nod and turned to push open the door. He stopped. “You…you’ll be here?”

“We’ll be here,” Isak confirmed. “If anything goes wrong, just call.”

He gave him a grateful smile and stepped out the door. They watched him go until he was out of sight. Isak felt himself begin to worry already.

“It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” Jonas asked.

“What?”

“It feels like sending your kid off to their first day of school, or something.”

Isak scrunched up his face. “He’s not our son.”

Jonas raised a brow. “He’s kind of our son.”

Isak looked out the door again. He reluctantly pulled it shut. His mind raced, wondering if Even would find the place alright and if he could use the tram by himself. What if he exposed himself? What if he ended up dead? Why did they let him go on his own?

Isak heard Jonas chuckle under his breath and narrowed his eyes at him. “I know,” Jonas said, his voice a mix of amusement and softness. “He’ll be fine.”  

Isak forced himself to relax. “He is kind of our son.”

Jonas nodded and walked over to plonk himself down on the couch. Isak followed him. “He was worried about getting someone to like him,” Jonas said. He shifted in his seat as he considered his next words. “But he’s really…he’s easy to like. In both ways, I guess.”

Isak sat back. He was.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update took longer than I wanted because I was busy with Easter and being sad. Hope you all had a nice Easter, or a nice weekend if you don't celebrate. 
> 
> What do you call a fish with a tie? SoFISHsticated.  
> I'm not proud of that one. 
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


	4. No ordinary boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disasters, comfort and boats.
> 
> Make sure to check out the Once in a full moon playlist [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/6yr78itaq8dirmhogtchd08zm/playlist/5NyR7aKUeNOOAuxitO1z8K?si=31G1ydP0QVmGYygNJbPMNw) on spotify!

 

Så, hvis du var en sang,

sku eg skrive deg å synge på deg natten lang

Å, hvis du var en sang,

 sku eg pugge deg og spille deg som en nattegal

 

 

_Not this. Anything but this._

“That’s your ringtone? Gabrielle?” Isak groaned.

“It’s you.”

“Huh?”

Jonas put the phone to his ear. “Even?”

Isak heard Even’s voice, but couldn’t make out the words. Something must’ve happened. He felt his throat go dry.

“Hey, Even,” Jonas said. His voice was soft and patient as if he were trying to soothe a frantic child. “Slow down, alright? You’re okay.” He listened for a while, eyeing Isak. Jonas took the phone from his ear and put it on speaker. “Where are you?”

Even’s distraught voice carried through. “…I don’t know.”

“What’s around you?” Isak asked.

There was a ruffling sound. “Uh. I’m near a bridge. There are a lot of buildings. They’re all covered in…drawings. And-and there’s a sign that says Øya…Blå and Ingsteds.”

Jonas snapped his fingers. “He’s in Grünerløkka.”

In any other circumstance, Isak would have made fun of Jonas for guessing that so quickly. Of course he’d know it was Grünerløkka. But Isak’s heart was beating too fast for him to make a jab. Instead, Isak steadied his voice as much as he could to say, “Stay where you are. We’re coming.”

Even let out a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Don’t worry,” Jonas said. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Okay.”

Isak got to his feet before Jonas had even hung up. He nearly tripped over himself as he ran to his room to grab his wallet. Jonas was waiting at the door when he got back. They hurried to the tram stop wordlessly. Isak couldn’t speak. His mind was racing too fast for him to catch the thoughts that went by.

It was Jonas that broke the silence once they were on the tram. “Every parent’s worst nightmare.”

Isak choked out a laugh. “What the hell is he doing in Grünerløkka?”

“At least he’s alive.”

“Mm.” Isak quirked a brow at Jonas. “But really; Gabrielle?”

Jonas raised his hands and shrugged. “Wasn’t me.”

“That better be true,” Isak said. “Or I might have to drop you as best friend.”

“Only friend,” Jonas corrected jokingly.

Isak gave Jonas’s shoulder a light push. They laughed together. The mood lightened a little, but Isak’s worry did not. He frowned at the floor while his stomach twisted and contorted. Even had sounded so small on the phone. Isak could only imagine what had happened to make him that way.

Jonas bumped their shoulders in silent support.

It was no surprise that Jonas knew exactly where to go. Isak followed him through ‘hipsterville’. They passed a number of trendy restaurants and vintage clothing stores. Isak wasn’t sure if he found the whole place cool or pretentious as fuck. He knew they were close when more and more of the buildings were covered in graffiti. They spotted a familiar blond head when they rounded a corner.

“Even!”

Even’s eyes lit up the instant they landed on Isak and Jonas. His frown disappeared as he walked towards them, but his expression was anything but happy. They met halfway.

Isak put a hand on his upper arm. “You okay?”

Even swallowed hard. His eyes were red. “I don’t know.”

“Do you want to sit somewhere?” Jonas asked.

“Can we just go home?”

“We can do that.” Isak said. Even gave him a small, grateful smile. “Let’s go.”  

The trip home was mostly silent. Jonas tried to lighten the mood with a few jokes and small talk, but Even barely cracked a smile. Isak wished he were brave enough to give him a hug. Even sighed in relief when they reached Isak’s house. The door shut loudly behind them. Even jumped.

“Anyone want tea or coffee?” Jonas gave Isak a look. “What?”

“No offense bro, but you can’t make tea for shit.”

“Bullshit,” Isak scoffed.

“No, no, he’s right.”

Isak jumped right out of his skin. He turned around. “Christ.”

Lea snorted. “Most people just call me Lea.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Scary, am I?” She used her forefinger to give the tip of his nose a light tap.

“I didn’t know you would be home,” Isak said, scrunching his nose.

“What? You don’t want my company?” When none of the boys said anything, she rolled her eyes and threw her shoulders back dramatically. “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll go hide in my room.”

“It’s not that-” Isak tried.

“Isak, it’s fine,” Lea insisted, smiling. “But really; if you’re going to make some drinks, get Jonas to do it.”

“You suck.”

She blew him a kiss before disappearing down the hall.

“Can we go to your room?” Even’s voice was tired and sad.

It made Isak’s heart clench. “Sure,” he said softly. He let Even and Jonas walk in front of him so he could close the door behind him. He sat on his bed next to Jonas. Even sat between them.

They were silent for several seconds.

Jonas cleared his throat. “What happened?” he asked.

Even sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping. “I blew it. Everything’s ruined.”

“What do you mean?”

Even looked up at the ceiling and then back to the floor. “The whole thing was a complete disaster.” He took a breath before he continued. “Everything was going fine until…until I started acting like a stupid little guppy. I put salt in my water, which weirded her out and then I told her she has wide shoulders.”

Jonas had to stifle a laugh. “What?”

Even shrugged again, looking even more hopeless. “I panicked. I started saying stupid shit and I think I offended her and then…” he sat back and rubbed his thighs. “I got wet.”

“Did she see you?” Isak asked, frowning with concern.

Even shook his head and Isak felt himself relax a little. “I ran right out of the place and dived into the lake.”

“Oh, dude,” Jonas said.

Even groaned and covered his face with both hands. “I tipped her glass over and it got all over both of us. Then I left her there. To jump in a lake.” He groaned again. “She hates me now! She probably thinks I’m a big loser.”  

“Have you spoken to her?” Jonas asked.

“No,” Even said, removing his hands. “I just swam away. She’ll never want to talk to me again.”

“You can’t know what she’s thinking.”

“It’s not hard to guess,” Even said sadly. He slumped down even further. “Everything’s turned to shit. I failed my pod. The Pulmari are gonna take our turf. Everyone will hate me for the rest of my life. I’ll get cast out.”

“Time’s not up yet,” Isak said.

“It’s too late,” Even said. “Is any land person really going to fall for me in less than three weeks?”

“I can text Sonja,” Jonas told him. Even looked at him in question. “I’ll find out how she feels about it. Sonja is cool. She doesn’t hate on people for no reason.”

“I ditched her.”

“We’ll fix it,” Isak said. “We’ll work it out.” Even didn’t say anything. Isak rubbed his back with one hand, the same way he had at the shop. Even closed his eyes, leaning in to it.

Jonas tapped out a few messages, stopping to read the responses he got. Isak couldn’t see the phone from where he was. So he waited. And waited. By the time Jonas finally put his phone down, Isak felt like they’d been sitting there for a century. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table so he could complain. It had only been four minutes. He sat back, keeping his mouth shut.

“She doesn’t hate you,” Jonas said.

Even opened his eyes to look at him warily. “No?”

Jonas shook his head, a small smile on his face. “She thought it was weird, but she doesn’t hate you.” Even breathed a sigh of relief. “I told her you weren’t feeling so great. And that you’d call her tomorrow.”

“She wants me to?”

“She promised she’d hear you out.”

Even reached for Jonas’s phone. “Why don’t I just call her now?”

Jonas moved his phone out of Even’s reach. “Don’t think that’s a good idea.” He slid his phone back into the safety of his pocket.

“It’ll give you time to think about what you want to say to her,” Isak said.

Even huffed and sat back. “I need to explain myself.” He pursed his lips in thought. “How do I explain myself?”

“You can’t really tell her the truth,” Isak said.

Even scratched the back of his head. “No, but…If I do find someone to be with…won’t I eventually have to tell them who I really am?”

“You’ve got a point,” Jonas said.

“Maybe you should wait until you know you can trust her,” Isak said. “It’s kind of a big deal, a secret like that.”

Even pulled his lips into his mouth and nodded. “Yeah.” He fell back on the bed, making the other boys bounce from the impact. “It was so embarrassing,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I didn’t think you’d get embarrassed about anything,” Jonas remarked.

Even raised a brow. “Why?”

“Ha!” exclaimed Isak. “How about all the times you’ve tried to get naked in front of us? Or ‘Sonja, you’re so beautiful’ or ‘I got a boner today!’” Jonas laughed at his totally not terrible impression of Even’s voice.

Even laughed softly, reaching down to pinch Isak’s thigh. Isak flinched and smacked his hand away. “Maybe land people need to be more open.”

“I’m okay,” Jonas said.

Isak gave a single nod. “Yup.”

Even shook his head at them. “Lame.”

“Keep telling yourself that, fish boy,” Isak teased.

“I’m not a fish!”

 

*********

 

Even rolled over for the millionth time, taking the duvet with him. He grunted and kicked it off. Frowning, Isak reached over to switch his lamp on. He propped himself up on his elbow, facing Even.

Even was on his back, frowning up at the ceiling. Isak stared at him, waiting. Eventually, Even turned his head towards him. He didn’t say anything.

Isak decided to take pity on him. “You didn’t ruin everything, Even,” he said softly.

Even looked down sadly. He met Isak’s eyes a few seconds later. He shrugged awkwardly in his position. “I can’t stop imagining all their faces. Disappointed and let down. And scared.” He rolled over so his entire body faced Isak. Half of his face was smushed into the pillow.

“You haven’t let anyone down yet,” Isak reminded him.

“Why did I think I could do this?”

Isak was quiet. Hearing Even sound so hopeless sent an ugly pang to his gut. It was so unlike the Even Isak had known so far. He supposed he was still getting to know him. No one could be optimistic every second of every day. Even was allowed to be sad. That didn’t mean Isak had to like it. Someone like him didn’t deserve to feel like this.

Isak tentatively moved a hand over to Even’s side of the bed. Even watched the hand get closer to him. Isak paused in front of Even’s chest. Even looked at him silently. Gathering all his courage, Isak placed his hand on Even’s shoulder. He gave it a squeeze. Even responded with a small smile.

“You’re brave,” Isak said. “The bravest person I’ve ever met.”

Even’s smile grew a fraction. He stared at Isak for a while before saying, “You’re very kind, Isak.”

That did something weird to Isak’s insides. He wasn’t sure exactly what. There was happiness and embarrassment and denial. Something else. He huffed, shaking his head. How could he accept _that_?

Even moved his head against the pillow so he was closer to Isak. “You are,” he pressed lightly. “You’re a good person.”

Isak felt his cheeks warm. He was glad his lamp didn’t produce a lot of light. He cleared and throat and took his hand back. It was probably just his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a flash of disappointment cross Even’s face. “Uh…Tell me about them. About your pod.”

Even looked down to think. “We’re called the Osa. We’re known as one of the most well-mastered pods in the ocean. Not too many creatures would try to cross us. Uh, except the Pulmari, I guess. Think of…Ursula. From that movie. They’re not as powerful, but they’re twice as mean.”    

Isak bit back a smirk. “Are they twice as ugly?”

Even smiled, widely this time. Isak hadn’t realised how much he’d missed it. “Thrice.” They chuckled together.

“What about your…your family?” Isak asked.

A crooked smile grew on Even’s face. “My cousin Sirena is the sweetest mermaid in the sea,” he said. “But she’s tough. A merman underestimated her once and…let’s just say he regrets it.” He paused. “My parents… they’re the smartest merfolk I know. My father knows everything about the ocean and everything in it.”

“I thought that was you?”

“I know a lot, but pappa knows literally everything. And my mother helped me master my powers better than any of my teachers ever could.”

“Oh yeah, that cool water ball thing you did.” Isak had forgotten all about it.

“Mm.” Even nodded. “All thanks to mamma. She hates my ‘obsession’ with the surface the most. They’re both so protective, it’s annoying.” He smiled to himself.

“You miss them.”

“I do.”

Isak swallowed the sudden thickness in his throat. “You’re lucky to have them.”

“I am.”

Isak knew that painfully well. The missing. He moved his arm away and let his head fall onto his pillow. They lay in comfortable, sleepy silence. Isak swallowed again. “I, uh…my parents are gone.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Even said.

“It’s okay,” Isak said. He could never really tell if that was the truth. “Things weren’t going so great with mamma and pappa for a while. I wasn’t even surprised when he left.” He had to stop for a moment. _But it still hurt,_ he didn’t say. Even heard it anyway. He reached over to smooth his hand over Isak’s arm in comfort. “Two years later, mamma got sick. She was gone within the year.” He stopped again. Even kept his hand where it was. “Since then, it’s just been Lea and me.” 

“You didn’t go to live with your dad?” The question was gentle. Isak had no idea such a loaded question could be said in such a way.

“He offered, but Lea was 19 by then. Mamma named her as legal guardian. Pappa didn’t fight it. We still see him from time to time, but we’re happier without him.” He scrunched up his face. “We’re _better_ without him,” he corrected.  

Even slowly moved his hand along Isak’s arm, the very same way Isak rubbed his back. The touch was warm. “You’re lucky to have her,” he said with a small smile.

Isak returned it. “I am.”

 

*********

 

“I can’t do it.”

“Yes you can,” Jonas said.

“Here.” Isak grabbed the phone and pressed dial. He held it back out to Even.

Even stared at it in horror. “Why’d you do that? It’s ringing.”

“That’s the point,” Isak said, rolling his eyes. He grabbed Even’s hand and put the phone in it. “You can’t fix things if you never talk to her. Just get it over with.”

“Hello?” Sonja’s voice travelled through the phone.

With wide eyes, Even quickly put the phone to his ear. “Sonja,” he said surprisingly cheerfully. “Hey.” He began to slowly pace around the room while Isak and Jonas watched. “How are you?...That’s great…Yeah…Like an idiot…It was…I know, I’m sorry. I freaked out…No, I’m okay.”

Jonas bumped his shoulder against Isak’s. “Should we leave him to it?”

Isak took a glance at Even. He was swaying as he talked, sounding much more upbeat than he looked. The conversation didn’t sound too dramatic. Isak figured Even could handle it himself. He turned to Jonas. “Fifa?”

“Fifa.”

They left the room before Even could say anything. _He’ll be fine,_ Isak told himself. This time, he actually believed it.

Isak was kicking Jonas’s butt when Lea came in and sat in the arm chair adjacent to the couch. She watched the T.V screen for a while. “Even seemed upset yesterday,” she said. Isak felt his crossed legs tense. “Is he alright?”

“He’s okay,” Jonas said, eyes on the screen. “Shit,” he muttered. “Just had a bad date.”

“Let me guess,” Lea chuckled, “He said something ‘totally embarrassing’ and they threw their drink all over him.”

Isak snorted. “We’re not in a cartoon.”

Lea huffed her indignation. Isak poked his tongue at her. In the split second he looked away from the game, Jonas had managed to score. “Argh, shit.”

“Heh heh.” Jonas was very pleased with himself.

“Since when are young people ‘dating’, anyway?” Lea asked, throwing her legs over the arm of the chair. “I thought it was all about hanging out.”

“Young people?” Isak said. “You’re like 26.”

“Why do I feel a hundred?”  

“Bad posture.”

Lea threw a cushion at Isak’s head. It bounced off his face with a light ‘thwack’. Jonas laughed.

“Glad to know you’re on my side,” Isak grumbled.

Jonas shrugged. “I like Lea.”

“More than me?”

“Of course,” Lea said. “I’m incredibly appealing.”

“Debatable.”

“You are such a brat sometimes,” Lea laughed.

They heard Even cheer from the bedroom. “Yes!”

“I think it went well,” Jonas said.

“Smoothing things over?” Lea guessed.

“I knew he would.”

Even bounded into the room with a big, stupid grin on his face. Isak paused the game and raised an expectant brow at him. “Well?”

“She’s gonna give me another chance!”

“Alright,” Jonas enthused.

“She forgave you for abandoning her?” Isak teased.

Even was too happy to retaliate. Instead, he bopped his head with excitement. “I told her I’d make it up to her.” He let out a cross between a laugh and a breath. “She doesn’t hate me.”

“And you were worried,” Jonas said, shaking his head.

Lea shifted in her seat so she could see Even better. “Who is this girl, anyway?”

“Hey, Lea,” Even smiled at her. “Sonja. She’s smart and fun and beautiful.”

“She went to Nissen,” Jonas said.

“Well, she must be quite a girl.” Lea was looking at Isak when she said it. He frowned at her. She pulled a face at him.

“Yeah,” Even smiled softly. He looked at the ground before meeting Isak’s eyes.

Isak felt himself flush. It was ridiculous. He had absolutely no reason to. He looked away with a cough. “Uh. I’m starving. Who wants lunch?”

Lea swung her feet to the ground and pushed herself up. “I’ll make it,” she said. “And not because of how much I love you. I just don’t want you to blow up my kitchen.”

“I would complain, but I’m too hungry,” Isak said.

She gave him a thumbs up and backed out of the room. Jonas turned to Isak when she was gone. “You two are so alike.”

“Huh?”

“I see it,” Even said, walking around to squeeze between them. They were uncomfortably pressed together.

Isak tried to wriggle some room, but he was too squished in. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” Even gave him a big, smartass smile and put his arms around them both. “We need to celebrate.”

“That your girlfriend didn’t dump you?”

“Yeah,” Even said like it was obvious. “I can still save my pod.” Isak squinted at the floor. “What?”

“You always…are you _only_ in this for your pod?” Isak asked. Even cocked his head to the side. “I mean, what are you going to do if she does tell you she loves you? Are you gonna go back to the ocean and never see her again?”

Even’s face turned serious as he thought. “I don’t know.”

“Dude, that’s really shit,” Jonas said. It wasn’t malicious, but it was true.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Even said. “Of course I’ll have to return to the sea, but…whatever happens, I want to stay connected to the land. It’ll depend on whether my pod lets me or not.”

“If you save your home, why wouldn’t they?”

Even lifted his arms over both boys’ heads and pulled them back into himself. It made them even more squished together. “Honestly, I have no idea. The Osa are really wary of anything to do with the surface.” They sat in thick silence. “But nothing like this has ever happened to us,” he added. “Things could change.”

“They will,” Jonas said. He gave Even a pat on the leg. Even smiled at him. “Hey, I wanted to ask; every time you take a shower, do you fall on your ass?”

Even laughed brightly. Isak smiled at it. “I only made that mistake the first time. Now, I make sure I sit down before I turn on the water.”

“We don’t have a bath,” Isak said, feeling a little guilty even though it was something he couldn’t do anything about.

“You took in a magical sea creature,” Even said kindly. “That’s enough. I don’t need luxury.”

“I tell you what, you’re easy to please,” Jonas said.

Even shrugged. “I didn’t really have any expectations.”

“I bet life in the ocean is way cooler than up here,” Isak said.

“It’s nice, but,” Even looked at Isak, “This world is pretty awesome, too.”

 

*********

 

“Okay, gentlemen,” Karl said, clapping his hands together. “Welcome aboard ‘Den Blå Perle’.”

Isak had seen Jonas’s uncle’s boat before, but he’d never been on it. It was smaller than what he would have thought, but then again, he knew less than nothing about boats.  

“Where did the name come from?” Even asked. He had been bouncing around all morning. Isak was glad he was in a better mood.

“It’s a good story,” Karl said. He put an arm around Jonas and elbowed his fellow fisherman, a young man named Yann. “These two have heard it a thousand times.”

“But it never gets old,” Yann said.

“Neither does your ass kissing,” Karl joked. Yann flipped him off with a sarcastic smile. “I went pearl diving with some friends down in Australia.”

“That’s a long way away,” Even said.

“And it was a long time ago,” said Karl. “I was working in a town called Broome and I wanted to impress a girl.” He waggled his eyebrows. They were as thick as Jonas’s. “I only vaguely knew what I was doing, but I got a few good ones. Out of all the white and grey, there was one blue pearl.” He smiled. “That’s the one I gave Theresa.”

Even smiled. “And she was impressed?”

“She married me,” Karl said. “Twenty years later, she’s still putting up with me.”

“It sounds just like a movie,” Even gushed. In his time here, Even had developed a little bit of an obsession. He had watched too films many to count by now. Watching movies with Even was an event in itself, Isak had found out. He’d spend the entire thing gaping and reading facts about the film off his (it was still Isak’s, thank you very much) phone.

“I hope it’d make a better movie than…what was it? Twilight?”

“You’ve seen it?” Jonas asked, amused.

Karl took his arm back. He bent down to pick a small length of blue rope off the deck. “Britt dragged me to it,” he said. “Was it as bad as I thought it was?” He walked past Jonas to check something on the other side of the boat.

“Worse,” Isak called.

“Maybe we should watch it when we get back,” Even said.

“Not on your life,” Isak said.

“Should be we head out?” Yann called to Karl.

“Everything’s good?”

“Perfect,” Yann said.

Karl disappeared into the cabin. He reappeared holding several bright orange lifejackets in his arms. “Alright, boys,” he said, handing them a lifejacket each. “I know they look dorky, but safety first.”

Even held the jacket up, inspecting it with curiosity.

“Watch me,” Jonas whispered to him. He fitted the jacket and clipped himself up. Even gave him a grateful smile and did the same. Isak pulled his over his head. Even gave his covered stomach a pat. _Cute._ His childlike wonder was one of the most endearing things about him.

Isak didn’t realise he was staring until Even spoke. “Okay?”

Isak blinked rapidly. “Uh. Yeah.”

He was so embarrassed, he barely even registered what was going on around him. He let himself be dragged into the north cabin without noticing who was pulling him. The inside of the cabin brought Isak’s focus back. The inside was white and blue just like the sides of the boat. Short shelves lined the walls at the very top. There were dozens of boxes and compartments filled with equipment. Isak walked a few paces to where Yann was at the wheel. His eyes trailed across the many knobs, switches and levers he guessed were important controls. The front window was wide and clear. Isak hadn’t even noticed when they started moving. He knew absolutely nothing about boats, but this was pretty cool.

“Yeah, just keep at the pace you’re going for about a mile,” Even said.

Isak looked across to see him standing at Yann’s other side. They were all standing fairly close-ish. There wasn’t much room in the cabin. Isak slowly made his way out of the cabin and found Jonas and Karl kneeling by some kind of mechanism by the stern. He walked carefully, having not been on a boat in a while.

“You okay, man?” Jonas asked, concern on his face.

Isak made a weird movement with his head. He didn’t know if he was nodding or shaking his head. He coughed, willing his face not to flush. “Fine,” he croaked. “Why?”

“You seem out of it.”

“I’m okay,” Isak said, his voice much clearer.

Jonas nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Karl explained they were making sure the net was set right. Isak guessed the thing they were fiddling with reeled the net in and out. He felt a little bad he couldn’t be of more assistance, but Karl assured him his company was all they needed. Isak tried his best not to roll his eyes.

A while later, they anchored where Even had directed Yann. Karl asked him if he was sure about their course twelve dozen times. Even assured him over and over, never losing his patience. Jonas eventually told his uncle to chill the fuck out.

Karl and Jonas lowered the net while Isak and Even stood by. Yann was at the controls, watching the fish radar. Usually, this boat was only manned by two people. Isak was a little relieved. He would have no idea what to do, anyway.

They waited a while until Karl was gasping and laughing. “Come look at this!”

The boys walked further down. They leaned over to see the net being tugged roughly. Isak grabbed onto the side railing to lean further. He couldn’t actually see any fish, but it seemed like there were plenty in the net.

Yann appeared seconds later. He smiled when he saw what was happening. “The radar’s not lying to me, then,” he said. He delivered a single pat to Even’s back. “You really know what you’re talking about.”

Even flashed him a big, happy smile. Isak felt himself smiling with him.

“How did you know about this?” Karl asked, his voice full of mirth.

“My dad,” Even said proudly.

“Honestly, I had my doubts,” Karl said.

“We never would have guessed,” Jonas quipped.

Karl pulled a face at him. He looked at Even again. “Tell your old man he’s a genius. We never get this many this quick.”

“We’ll have more than we need at this rate,” Yann said.

“We _really_ need to bring in more customers,” Jonas said.  

“Your dad said he was making new flyers today,” said Karl. “That’ll be your job tomorrow.”

Jonas threw his head back. “Back to basics,” he said.

“We can help hand them out,” Even said. Isak straightened up and gave him a look. “Oh, come on. He was going to ask, anyway. And we’ve got nothing better to do.”

 “And you would do anything for me,” Jonas said.

Isak did his most dramatic eye roll. He accompanied it with a drawn-out, pained sigh. “I suppose.”

 

*********

 

“Come visit Vasquez Fish!” All of Isak’s enthusiasm had been used for the day. His cheeks ached from all the smiling. His brain was drained from all the small talk. His feet hurt from all the standing. His voice had turned almost monotone and his expression was not at all one of a cheerful spokesperson. It was a miracle anyone was still taking his flyers.

He sucked in a breath and wiped at his sweaty forehead. _Probably should’ve used sunscreen,_ he thought. _Oh well._ He jumped, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket. Even had let him have it today, promising he wouldn’t run off. Isak only agreed because Even was handing out his flyers with Jonas’s little sister. He’d be safe with a babysitter.  

He wasn’t used to having his phone in his pocket anymore. When he pulled it out, a message from Sonja lit the screen. ‘Hahaha ❤️️' it said. Isak rolled his eyes and tucked the phone back into his jeans. He could easily read their entire conversation to see exactly what that was in response to, but Isak told himself he didn’t care. He didn’t. Not at all.

“Hey!” Isak looked up and spotted Thea and Even waving at him from across the street. “Wanna go get ice cream?” Thea called.

Isak’s mouth watered at the mere mention. “ _Yes_!” He looked for traffic and jogged over to them. “Are we done?”

“We’re done,” Thea said, laughing at him. He was sweating and puffing. Even brushed some damp hair off his forehead. Isak felt his breath get stuck in this throat. He would say the touch was tender, but that would be ridiculous.

He cleared his throat and Even took his hand back. “Where’s Jonas?”

“He’ll meet us there,” Thea said.

They were all on their way back to the shop when they ran into Sana and Chris. Chris was holding a poster to a streetlight while Sana taped it down. Isak didn’t realise who they were until they got close enough for Chris to lock eyes with him. She let go of the poster she was holding up. Sana nearly tripped and the poster fluttered to the ground. “Chris,” she complained.

“Hey, girls,” Jonas said. They stopped in front of them. That lion look was back in Chris’s eyes.

Sana looked up, still bent over to retrieve the poster. She was at a funny, sideways angle. “Oh, hi.” She quickly snatched the poster and stood up straight.

“What’s this?” Jonas asked, gesturing to the paper in her hand.

“We’re throwing a dance to raise money for russ,” Sana said, handing him a poster.

“Vilde’s idea?”

“Yup. I have to hand it to her, this idea is really good,” Sana said.

Jonas, Thea and Even read the poster, but Isak couldn’t tear his eyes away from Chris. It was like she had some kind of hypnotic power. At least she didn’t have a spoon this time.

“Sounds awesome,” Thea said.

“So we’ll see you there?” Chris asked, turning an ordinary gaze on her. Isak was free.

“Definitely.”

Chris nodded, taking all four of them in. “It doesn’t say it on the poster, but the night ends with an ancient ritual. We’re all going get naked, cover ourselves in blood and make sacrifices to Satan.”

“She’s kidding,” Sana said, seeing the look on Even’s face.

Thea laughed and Isak shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “You two haven’t met Even yet, have you?” Jonas asked.

“No, but I have heard about you,” Sana said. She offered Even her hand. Even shook it. “Sana.” She gave Isak a nod. It made him feel important.

“I’m Chris.” Chris gave Even a high five. Their hands made a big ‘smack’. “That was a good one.”

Even smiled at her, his eyes crinkling. “Nice to meet you.”

“Vilde will be happy to see you all there,” Sana said.

“The more sacrifices, the better,” Chris said.

“Stop scaring the children.”

“You can talk, woman.”

 

*********

 

Isak jumped, hearing a scream from the bathroom. _Lea._ He sprang to his feet and swung his door open. “Lea?” He dashed to the bathroom, his heart pounding.

The door was wide open. Isak poked his head in. Even was sitting on the shower floor, his magnificent blue tail hanging out the door. Isak had forgotten just how lovely his tail was. He stopped himself from admiring it when he remembered why he’d hurried in here. Lea was standing just beside the bathroom door, looking at Even with an indeterminable expression.

“Oh,” Isak said.

She whipped her head around to face him. “You knew about this?”

Isak shuffled further into the room. “Yeah.” His voice was low.

Even reached up and turned the water off. He placed his hands in his lap and looked at Lea nervously, biting his lip.

“He’s a-” she turned to look at Even, “You’re a…a merman.”

“I am,” Even said. He tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

Lea leaned back against the wall. “Huh.”

Isak met Even’s eyes. Even looked back helplessly. He shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing else he could do. Isak looked at his sister, suddenly feeling just as nervous as Even. He saw a myriad of thoughts cross over her face. Unable to tell whether they were good or bad, he held his breath.

“Cool,” she finally said.

Isak heard Even’s sigh of relief. He felt himself instantly relax. “Cool,” he laughed breathily.  

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lea asked.

“What was I supposed to say? That we were going to have princess Ariel come live with us?” Even huffed. Isak gave him a slight smirk before returning his gaze to Lea.

“You could have,” Lea said.

“Would you have believed me?”

She took a glance at Even. “I do now.” She stepped closer to him. “It’s beautiful. Your tail, I mean.”

Even smile was impossibly wide. It warmed Isak’s gut. “Thanks.”

She looked at Isak suspiciously. “So, when you said he needed to stay until the end of the month…”

“I’m in trouble,” Even said.

They left Even to dry off.

Isak poured Lea a big glass of her favourite juice and sat on the couch with her. Even came in soon after and told her the full story. He included some details Isak hadn’t heard before, so he listened just as intently. When he was done, Even sat forward, eagerly awaiting Lea’s reaction.

“That sucks,” she said.

Even let out a short laugh. “It does.”

“You had your home taken from you.” She looked sad. Isak shuffled closer to her and leaned his shoulder to hers. She pressed back.

Even nodded solemnly. He dipped his head. “Can I still stay here?” he asked cautiously.

“Of course you can stay,” Lea said. “This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.” She regarded Isak beside her. “Us.”

Even smiled at her. “Me too.” He shifted his gaze over to Isak.

“Yeah, well,” Isak paused to let out a fake cough. He felt heat rising to his cheeks. “If it weren’t for Jonas and me, you probably would’ve been captured by the circus by now.”

“Or I’d be dead.”

“That’s really dark, though.”

Even shrugged. “It’s true.”

Lea gave Isak’s leg a pat. “I’m glad you’re not,” she said to Even. “Dead _or_ in the circus. I’m not sure which one would be worse.”

“I hope I never find out,” Even shuddered.

“You won’t,” Isak said. There was no way he or Jonas would ever let anything happen to Even. Of that he was sure.

“No way,” Lea agreed. She jumped up. “I think I need a good dinner after that. How does Moroccan sound?”

“Can you make anything Moroccan?” Isak squinted at her, doubtful.

Lea snorted. “I’m thinking take-out.” She tilted her head at Even. “Unless you’re on a fish only diet, or something.” Even laughed at her. “What?! I don’t know what a merman is supposed to eat!”

“That’s exactly what I said!” said Isak.

“And I laughed at you exactly like this,” Even said.

“Ha. Ha.” Lea turned on her heels and stalked off to the kitchen.

Isak watched her go. Once she was completely out of sight, he raised a brow at Even.

“What?”

“How did that happen?”

“She walked in on me,” Even said. “Isn’t it better that she knows?”

Isak sighed. “I guess.” He still felt a little off about it. A need to protect him.

Even stared at him, a small smile on his face. “You’re a good person, Isak,” he said.

“Ugh.” Isak sighed loudly. He made sure to look as disgusted as possible.

Even chuckled at him. “I-” He was interrupted by his (it was Isak’s, damn it) phone. It had been left it on the arm of the couch. Even picked it up. He unlocked it and smiled.

Isak’s stomach twisted. “Your lover?” he made himself say, forcing some playfulness into his voice. He didn’t know why his throat had suddenly gotten so dry.

“Sonja,” Even confirmed, his eyes soft. He looked up at Isak excitedly. “I should ask her to that dance.”

Isak nodded, pulling his lips in. “Good idea.”

“It’ll be romantic,” Even said, looking at the phone as if in a trance.

Isak knew he should be happy for him. He was. But every time Even got that look on his face when Sonja was merely mentioned, Isak felt sort of…sick.      

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my boat and fishing knowledge comes from childhood memories and poorly done research ;) They were simpler times. Apologies for any mistakes
> 
> What's a pirate's favourite letter?  
> You'd think it'd be 'RRR', but alas, the pirate's favourite letter is the C.  
> You're welcome :p 
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


	5. Kiss the boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New friends, planning and kisses
> 
> Listen to the Once in a full moon playlist [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/6yr78itaq8dirmhogtchd08zm/playlist/5NyR7aKUeNOOAuxitO1z8K?si=31G1ydP0QVmGYygNJbPMNw) on Spotify while you read!

 

So, Isak had a crush. A tiny, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it crush. Not that it did him any good. He had no hope of taking Sonja’s place. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to. It was just a small crush. No one was in love here or anything. But Isak pathetically found himself wanting to touch Even’s stupid hair and hold his stupid hand.

Even wasn’t helping at all. He wouldn’t. Stop. Touching. Him. A pat on the back or a nudge or a quick hug here and there. Isak had never desperately wanted something to happen and stop at the same time. He was a mess.  

It was in small moments like these, sitting next to each other on the couch. Even was leaning on him while he told Lea exciting stories from the sea. Isak wanted to listen to what he was saying, he really did. How on earth was he expected to concentrate with Even’s body heat surrounding him? Their sides were pressed together. He revelled in it. He silently begged for mercy. He. Was. A. Mess.

He bounced with the couch as Even made a swift movement to go along with the next thrilling tale he was telling. Isak blinked and tried to pretend he wasn’t completely lost when he was finally able to focus on the words.

Lea’s mouth was hanging open. That gave him something to go off. He was supposed to be shocked. Or amazed. Or…something.

“I thought sharks were nothing but predators,” Lea said, deeply invested.

“They are predators,” Even nodded. “But they can be very playful, too. When they’re bored, they like to race each other.”

Lea laughed in awe. Isak smiled, leaning back a little to look at Even. Everything about him was unbelievable.   There was no way anyone could ever get used to knowing a real life merman.

“Ooh!” Lea bounced excitedly in the armchair. “Do mermaids really lure sailors into the sea? Like sirens?”

Even chuckled. “Hundreds of years ago, that was common practice,” he admitted. “But as land people became more advanced, we had more of a reason to fear them. Merfolk now believe it’s wrong to purposely trick or bring harm onto others. But there _are_ still some mermaids that think it’s fun. A word of advice: steer clear of the deep waters in the Caribbean.”  

“No way,” Isak said in mock shock. Even bumped his shoulder to his.

“Is there a special song they sing or something?” Lea asked.

“Many songs,” Even said. “But I’ve only ever heard one. It was in English.”

“And if you sang that now, we’d be enchanted?”

Even pursed his lips and nodded. “I guess.”

“Wild.”

“You could try it on Sonja,” Isak joked. “You’d be back to your pod in no time.”

Even shook his head at him with a smile. “I don’t exactly know how it’d affect her. And I’d have no idea how to reverse it. Enchantment songs are very powerful. If we’re not careful, we can enchant other merfolk. Even ourselves.”

“You’ve never done it?” Lea asked, gripping both arms of her chair.

“Isak and Jonas were the first land people I’ve ever talked to,” Even shrugged. “Until two weeks ago, the closest I’d been to land was…20 metres from a rock formation in Hawaii.” He ducked his head with a wry smile. “I got in big trouble for that.”

“You’ve been to Hawaii?” Isak asked.

“I’ve been all over,” Even said. “But Norway is our home. We like the cold.”

“We’ve got plenty of that,” Isak said.

Lea was absolutely enthralled. Isak had to stop himself from laughing at her. “I imagine there are rules about going on land,” Lea said.

“Oh yeah,” Even confirmed with a fervent nod. “Especially in my pod. The Osa don’t like us to be _anywhere_ near land. Even boats are off limits.”

“I don’t blame your people for not liking us,” Lea said. “We can be giant assholes when we want to be.”

Even let out a hearty laugh. “Not the land people I know,” he said.

It was the cheesiest thing Isak had ever heard, but his heart melted all the same.

“You are the sweetest guy,” Lea said. She reached over and patted his knee. “I’m sure you could get anyone to fall for you.”

“Let’s hope so,” Even said quietly.

That sent a small pang to Isak’s gut. He knew he had no right. Even liked Sonja. There was no chance he would ever feel…what ever _this_ was. Isak felt eyes on him and shifted his gaze to Lea. She fixed him with a look that said she held all the answers in the world. Isak frowned at her and mouthed ‘what?’

‘Nothing’ she mouthed back. The small smile on her face told Isak that it wasn’t nothing. It never was. Still, he didn’t feel like pushing it.

A familiar ‘ping’ drew his attention away from her. Isak frowned when he was unable to immediately spot his phone. “Where…?” He looked down and slid towards the far arm of the couch. The phone was lodged between the couch cushions. Even had decided to reach for it at the same time as Isak and they ended up grabbing onto each other’s hand. It was ridiculous. They had touched hands before. There was no reason this should be any different to any other time.

And yet.

Isak felt electric tingles move through his hand. They were small and they were fleeting. But they were there.

Even moved his hand away as if it were no big deal and let Isak grab the phone. Isak coughed and opened up his messages.

 

   **Jonas:** Hey, are you doing anything?

                Wait

                Stupid question

 **Isak:** Ha

              Ha

              Ha

              You’re hilarious

   **Jonas:**

   **Isak:**

   **Jonas:** bruh

   **Isak:** Are you requesting my presence or not, Vasquez?

   **Jonas:** How soon can you make it to Nissen?

   **Isak:** Why?

   **Jonas:** Eva said they could use the help

   **Isak:** Don’t tell me this has something to do with that tnhig of Vilde’s

           *thing

  **Jonas:** …

   **Isak:** Jonas

   **Jonas:** …

   **Isak:** bro

   **Jonas:** It has something to do with that _tnhig_ of Vilde’s

   **Isak:** Ugggghhhhh

   **Jonas:** Come oooon. You know Even will want to help

   **Isak:** Even wants to do everything

   **Jonas:** Exactly

 

This was exactly the moment Even took a peak at the conversation. “What does he want us to do?”

Isak sighed. “I don’t know. It’ll probably just be Vilde bossing us around.”

“Tell him we’ll do it,” Even said. Isak dramatically threw his head back and groaned. “It could be fun!”

“It’s good for you to get out of the house,” Lea added. Even made a ‘there you go’ gesture in her direction.

Isak sighed again. “If I die of boredom, I request a burial at sea.”

“That can be arranged,” Even joked.

Isak poked his tongue out at him and typed out another message.

 

   **Isak:** We’re on our way

             But you owe me

   **Jonas:** Trust me, you won’t be the only one suffering

 

When he looked up, Even was bouncing around, smiling at him. “It’ll be fun!” He jumped up from the couch and held a hand out to Isak.

Isak narrowed his eyes at him, but took the offered hand. Even pulled him up and dragged him to his room to grab his wallet and keys. Even’s cool hand felt nice on Isak’s warm one. It was smooth. Like water.

“Don’t party too hard, kids,” Lea called as they closed the front door behind them.

Isak’s mind was too fuzzy to say anything sassy back. He stared at the ground for a moment, trying to regroup himself.

“Are you okay?” Even asked.

Isak took in a breath before he looked at him. There was such kindness in his eyes. _Focus._ Isak cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Great.” 

 

*********

 

“Must be so weird to go to school in one of these big buildings,” Even said as they walked from the tram stop.

Isak shrugged. “It’s what we’re used to.” They walked in companionable silence for a few steps. “What did you learn in school?”

“We learned about the oceans and seas, different species, languages, our powers, the history of merfolk, the dangers of land people and boats.” He gave Isak a nudge with his elbow. “They made you seem _really_ scary.”

“Are you saying I’m not big and tough?” Isak quirked a brow at him.

Even pulled his lips in, holding back a smile. “You’re a kitten.”

“Me?” Isak scoffed. “You’re calling _me_ a kitten? Have you met me?”

“Yes,” Even laughed. “You act big and tough, but you’re really a soft kitten.” Isak shuddered and let out a sound of disgust. “You don’t like cats?”

“I do,” Isak said, still recovering from the blow to his ego. “But I don’t want people to think I am one.”

“What do you want people to think?”

What a question that was. “Anything but that.”

Even laughed softly and bumped their shoulders. “If it helps, you _are_ a big grump.”

“It does,” Isak said. He tried to hide his own stupid smile. “Did you learn anything like math or science?”

“Only basic equations. And we learned the science of the ocean, but I think it’d be different to what land kids learn,” Even said.

“Nothing about outer space, I guess,” Isak mused.

“We learn about the moon cycle,” Even offered. “It’s very important to merfolk.”

Isak pulled a face. “Like with werewolves?”

Even nodded. “Yeah. Every full moon, we transform into sea dragons and terrorize small islands. It’s kind of like our Christmas.”

“You’re a comedian are you?” Isak poked Even’s side. Even squirmed away from him, laughing cheekily. “So, you never think about parallel universes or anything like that?”

Even shrugged. “Why would I?”

“Because it’s interesting! Just think; everything than can happen _is_ happening right now. Infinite possibilities in infinite time. Everywhere, all at once.” Isak began to feel the way he had felt talking to Sana days ago.  

“I don’t know if I like that,” Even said.

“You don’t think it’s cool?”

Even bumped their shoulders together again. “What if there’s a universe where I never meet you?”

_This boy._

Isak’s face was burning and he was torn between wanting to hug Even or throwing him back in the ocean. He settled on giving him one of his signature eye rolls. “Ughhhh,” he groaned. Even was the corniest little shit Isak had ever met. That didn’t stop his heart from speeding up just a little bit.

 

*********

 

Isak spotted Jonas’s mound of dark, frizzy hair the moment he stepped into Nissen. He was sitting with a small group of people across two tables. Vilde and Sana stood in front of them.

“Hey, Jonas!” Even called. His voice echoed throughout the deserted courtyard.

Several heads turned to look at their new arrivals. Isak recognised Eva’s friends and two guys he went to school with. There were a few other people he didn’t recognise.

“Isak,” Vilde said in her chirpy voice. “How nice of you to want to help.”

Isak tried his best to match her big smile. By the way hers faltered, he figured he was giving her a grimace instead. “Well, you know me,” he remarked dryly.

Vilde nodded at him, her eyes big. Either she hadn’t picked up on the joke, or she’d ignored it completely. “But we _don’t_ know your friend.” 

“I’m Even.” Somehow, Even had managed a bigger smile than Vilde.

Eva, Noora, Vilde, Magnus and Mahdi all offered their greetings. One of the guys Isak didn’t know jumped up to shake both of their hands enthusiastically. “Eskild,” he said. “You’ll want to remember that in ten years.”

“For when you’re a reality star?” Noora said sardonically.

“What else?” He gestured at the redhead girl he’d been sitting next to. “That’s Linn.” She gave them a half-hearted wave. “We’re Noora’s roommates.”

“Elias,” the last stranger said. He, like the others, didn’t get out of his seat. “Were you forced here too?”

“No one was forced,” Vilde said. “If you’ve come, it means you want to help.” She looked around with her wide eyes and big smile. “Right?”

“Oh yeah,” Isak said. He and Even followed Eskild and sat next to him. When Isak settled, he realised he was sitting directly across from Chris. She had already noticed and gave him a wink. Isak gulped. Girls were scary. Every last one.

“As you all know,” Vilde clasped her hands together in front of her chest, “we are hosting a dance to raise russ funds. It’s very important that we make it perfect.” Elias cleared his throat loudly and raised his hand. Vilde pointed at him. “Yes?”

“What does it matter what the dance is like if you’ve already sold the tickets?”

Vilde sighed, dropping her shoulders back. “If the party is bad, everyone’s going to think our bus is bad.”

“We don’t want people spreading shit and asking for their money back,” Sana added.

Vilde gestured to her and nodded. “There. It needs to be perfect.” Her big smile returned. “We’ve decided on a beach theme to give everyone happy summer vibes.”

Magnus put his hand up. “Uh, Vilde?”

“Yes?”

“Why aren’t we hosting it on a beach?” Vilde sighed again. She looked like she was about to burst. “If it’s beach themed…shouldn’t it be?” His voice had gotten considerably smaller by the end of his question.

“It’s nautical!”

Sana put her hands on Vilde’s shoulders from behind. “Okay,” she said, trying to calm her down. “The theme is summer. Because it’s summer. And because we said so. Make sense?”

“Yeah,” Even said. Unlike most of the other faces there, he actually looked keen to be there.

“Good,” Sana said. Her smile said ‘do not mess with me’. Isak believed it whole-heartedly. “The school gave us permission to use the gym and we need help running the night.”

“That’s why we’ve brought a few willing volunteers,” Eva said. She was squashed between Jonas and Noora on the table opposite Isak.

Elias snickered. “Willing,” he said under his breath. He was completely unaffected by Sana’s threatening smile.

“Uh, Vilde,” Jonas said, half raising his hand.

Luckily, she had calmed down considerably. “Yes?”

“I wanted to ask if Vasquez Fish could cater.”

 _You evil bastard,_ Isak thought with a slight smirk. Jonas had come with an ulterior motive and forced him along for the ride. Isak thought maybe he’d had too much of an influence on Jonas.

Vilde scrunched her nose. It made her look like a bunny rabbit. “I already asked Mahdi if his restaurant could do it.”

“We haven’t decided on a menu,” Mahdi said, his hands behind his head. He looked almost too relaxed. “We could combine forces or something.”

“That’s cool,” Jonas enthused. “Our ingredients and your recipes.”

Vilde shifted her feet uncomfortably. Sana let go of her. “I don’t know…”

“It’s a good idea,” Noora said. She looked at Vilde with a soft, convincing look. “Where’s the harm?”

Everyone leaned in, looking at Vilde in earnest. She eventually sighed, only this one was accompanied with a genuine smile. “Oh, okay,” she said. “Let’s do that.” Mahdi gave Jonas a low-five. “But you two are on server duty.”

“Huh?” Mahdi frowned.

“You’ll be the servers on the night,” Vilde clarified. “Carrying around…what is it? Horderves. And making sure everyone gets food and drinks.” The boys tried not to groan too much.

“We need a DJ,” Sana said. “Or someone who can press play on Spotify.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Magnus said, bouncing around on his seat.

Sana raised an eyebrow at him. “Can you manage that?”

“I can press a few buttons!” Magnus insisted, sounding a little offended.

Vilde stared at him, her arms crossed. “Can you make a good playlist? It needs to be five hours or so long just in case. Make sure it’s music people can actually dance to. I think it should have at least some summer-themed songs. Like Gabrielle, or someone like her. Oh! Matilda!”

All the while, Magnus had been nodding his head rapidly. He seemed eager to please her. So he had an ulterior motive as well, Isak observed.

“I can do that. I can do all of that,” Magnus said.

Sana and Vilde shared a quick look. Sana gave him a single nod. “Okay.”

Magnus pulled a triumphant fist towards himself. “Yes!”

“So, that means the rest of you are on decorations,” Sana said.

“What are you guys doing?” Isak asked.

“Organising,” Vilde said. “Advertising, inviting, ushering. That’s a lot of work.”

Eva smacked a hand to the table. “My mum’s got loads of stuff we could use!”

Eskild put his hand up, but didn’t wait to be called upon. “Can I be a server? I want and excuse to talk to people all night.”

“Sure,” Vilde smiled. “Three’s better than two, anyway.”

They spent the next hour making suggestions and plans. There were lots of small arguments, all of which were quickly resolved. Usually with Sana staring everyone down and Magnus making lame jokes.

Even was excited the dance was going to be beach-themed. As expected, he charmed the group in no time.

Eva had a particular interest in him. “You’re hanging out with Sonja?” she asked when the conversation turned more casual. They had all moved positions.

“Yeah.” Even was smiling and Isak’s pathetic heart was sinking.

“Do you like her?”

Even nodded with enthusiasm. “She’s really cool and easy-going. And she’s so smart. You’re friends with her, aren’t you?”

“We’re not super close, but I have known her since we were kids,” Eva said.

Even cleared his throat, pulling his lips in. “Do-uh…has she said anything about me?”

Eva tilted her head back with a smile. “She said you’re funny.”

“That’s all?”

“ _And_ interesting,” she added. “She also said you’re kind of weird but in a good way.”

Isak huffed under his breath. That described Even pretty well. It was exactly what Isak thought of him. He wondered if Sonja felt fluttering when she was near Even. If her cheeks warmed when they touched. Did her heart skip a beat when she heard his laugh? He shook the thought away.

“Hm.” Even nodded slowly.

“Apparently you’re a big flirt,” Eva said. She waggled her brows at Even.

He laughed. “She’s just as bad.”

Isak didn’t want to hear anymore of that conversation so he moved to where Jonas was sitting with Mahdi and Magnus. “What’s up?” Mahdi greeted.

Isak gave him a nod.

“You were in nearly all my classes last year,” Magnus said.

“We have so much in common,” Isak said, faking great enthusiasm.

Playing along, Magnus grabbed his arm. “Oh my God, we should be besties.”

Isak found himself laughing the way he only ever did with Jonas. He already felt like he had known these two for a long time. Perhaps in another universe. It was the weirdest thing; Jonas was his only friend for years and as soon as Even showed up out of the literal ocean, Isak’s got all these people talking to him.

“The shop is getting a small renovation today,” Jonas told him.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mamma finally convinced us. Some paint, a new sign and a few cool knick-knacks, just like Even said.”

“Who is that boy, really?” Mahdi asked.

Isak glanced over at Even. He was laughing with Eva and Noora. The sight made him smile.

“A friend,” Jonas said.

Sana appeared behind Isak. “So, deforestation or climate change?”

“What about them?” he asked.

She sat down next to him. “Which one is worse?”

“Deforestation, obviously.”

“I agree,” Sana said simply.

“You agree with me? This has to be a parallel universe,” Isak said.

Sana rolled her eyes at him. “Well, it’s simple, isn’t it? Deforestation is a major cause of climate change.”

“And it has more of an immediate impact,” Isak said. He noticed Jonas looking at him curiously.

“I thought this was summer break,” Mahdi groaned.

“Not everyone wants to spend their entire summer playing video games and hooking up,” Sana said.

Mahdi leaned back and put his hands on his chest. “I’m a simple man,” he said.

“Never hurts to have serious conversations,” Jonas said.

Magnus gave Mahdi a solid pat on the back. “I’m with Mahdi. That stuff is for a classroom.”

“We are at school,” Isak pointed out.

Both Magnus and Mahdi jumped as if they had been spooked. “He’s right,” Mahdi said, scowling. “What were we thinking?” He over exaggerated a shudder.

“What have we done?” Magnus said dramatically.

“All our precious summer hours lost.”

“All those girls we could have been hooking up with gone.”

“Boys are ridiculous,” Sana said. She tried to look unimpressed, but Isak saw a small smile tug at her lips.

“Hey, hey,” Magnus said with mischief in his eyes. All eyes turned to him. “It is Wednesday my dudes!” Everyone let out a collective groan while Magnus threw his head back and let out a ridiculous screaming sound.°

 

*********

 

Isak and Even were sitting across from each other on his bed, staring at his phone the next day. They waited in silent anticipation for several long seconds that felt like centuries. Forty uncomfortable seconds later, the phone pinged loudly and the screen lit up with a message. Even launched himself at the phone. He quickly read the message, holding the phone close to his face. He remained impassive while he typed a response.

When he moved the phone away, he looked at Isak, his expression blank. “So?” Isak asked. He hadn’t done all that waiting to be left in the dark.

Even paused for dramatic effect. He slowly broke out into a smile that took up his entire face. “She said yes!”

Even looked so pleased, it was impossible not to feel a little happy for him. “I knew she would,” Isak said.

“What about you?”

Isak frowned at him, his heart skipping a beat. “What about me?”

“Is there anyone you’re interested in?”

Isak coughed, trying not to choke on his own spit. “Uh...uh…no. Why?” He felt his face begin to grow hot. _Fuck._

“You could take a date to the dance,” Even said. He was looking at him with an intent that made Isak squirm.

He shrugged, but he moved his shoulders too far forward and it ended up looking like a weird jolt. “I’m not…I don’t need a date. Not everyone needs a date.”

Even opened his mouth to say something else when the phone pinged again. He took a quick look. “For you,” he said, holding it in front of Isak’s face. He waved it around while Isak tried to snatch it. Isak grabbed Even’s wrist and forcibly took the phone out of his hand. Even pretended to look shocked. Isak gave him a ‘suck it’ smile.

He looked at the screen.

**_You have 4 new friend requests_ **

Isak brought up facebook and saw he had been sent a friend request from Sana, Mahdi, Magnus and Chris. The last one made him freeze for half a second. He stared at the notifications, a strange emotion going through him. It wasn’t much. But it meant they liked him. Maybe.

“Something wrong?” Even asked. Isak looked up and was glad to see his kind face. He shook his head. “Do you not like them?”

“It’s not that.”

They were quiet for a beat. “Is it because you don’t have a lot of friends?”

“Yeah,” Isak breathed. He supposed that wasn’t a hard guess. “I’m not,” he stopped and sighed, “I’m not used to people liking me. I’m not always great with people.”

Even scooted closer to him. “And now you don’t know how to handle people wanting to be your friend?”

“Yeah.”

He looked down. Even shifted around so they were sitting side-by-side. “I think you’re wonderful, Isak.”

Isak nearly melted right into the mattress. How could someone like Even think something like that about Isak? It just didn’t happen. “Psh.”

“I mean it,” Even pressed gently. “You’re a great friend.” Isak didn’t say anything. “You know, I don’t have too many friends back home.”

That got Isak to look up at him again. “You? No way?”

Even nodded. “Yes way. The only Osa that want to talk to me are my family and this one other kid. But only when no one else is around. My pod thinks I’m weird in a bad way. I know what it’s like to not have friends. For people to not like you.”

That made Isak kind of mad. How could anyone dislike someone so fun and selfless and brave? And now Even was trying to save the very people that made him feel unwanted. “That’s fucked.”

“It’s true.”

“But it’s fucked,” Isak said, a deep frown on his face. “They must all be giant assholes if they don’t like you.”

“Not all of them,” Even chuckled.

“They have to be,” Isak insisted. “It doesn’t make sense any other way. Everyone up here loves you two seconds after meeting you and your own pod doesn’t even want to talk to you? They’re assholes.”

Even laughed softly. “Sometimes,” he receded.

“Yeah,” he said with a firm nod. Even bumped their shoulders. Isak felt himself begin to relax. Even had let himself be vulnerable in front of him. He shared that with him. His bravery left Isak baffled and awed. Isak decided he could be honest too. “I, uh…I guess I don’t have any friends cause I don’t really try. I…hide myself.” The last word was barely above a whisper.

“Why?” Even asked just as quietly.

Isak felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed it down. There was no way he was going to cry. Not about this. He’d never said this aloud. “I don’t think I’m good enough.”

Even studied him for a while. Isak couldn’t meet his gaze. “Not everyone’s going to leave you,” Even said softly after a while. The lump was back. “I know I don’t know what it’s like to lose my parents. But I know fear. And I know love. Platonic love.” He paused, carefully considering his next words. “I know _you_. And you, Isak, are worth having as a friend.” He bumped their shoulders again. It was his thing. “People will want to stick around if you let them.”

Isak stared at his duvet, unmoving. He felt Even’s hand rub up and down his back the same way he had at the fish shop. It soothed him while he tried to remember how to breathe. He blinked his unshed tears away. Normal people probably didn’t react to getting a friend request like this. He was ridiculous. Isak unlocked his phone and brought it up to his face. Even looked over his shoulder as he pressed ‘accept’ on each one.

Even gave Isak’s shoulder a squeeze. It sent tingles down his spine. He held back a shiver. “It’s like, we were just starting to get over pappa leaving and then mamma got sick.” Isak had been more honest that afternoon with Even than he’d ever been. Now he couldn’t stop. “It was fucking awful. Motor neurone disease is a real asshole. By the end, she couldn’t move or speak.” Even gave him another squeeze in silent support. “You don’t really get over that. Seeing someone you care about like that.”

“I think your mamma would be proud of who you are now,” Even said.

Incredibly, Even got a genuine smile from Isak. Isak’s heart hurt and healed with both grief and love for his mother. He looked at Even. “She would’ve liked you.”

Even waggled his eyebrows. “I’m told I’m charming.”

Isak chuckled. “And annoying.”

Even leaned back, placing a hand on his chest. “I can’t believe my dearest friend would say such a thing.”

“I told you I’m nothing like a kitten.”

Even smiled softly at him. “Oh, no. You still are.”

“I will not accept this.”

“You’ll be living in denial.”

Isak shook his head. “Cats are sweet. I am not sweet.”

“I beg to differ,” Even teased, his eyebrows raised.

“Ugh!” Isak complained, a big, stupid grin on his face. “Stop this!”

Even laughed at him. It lit up his entire face. _He’s so pretty,_ Isak thought. He knew Even couldn’t hear him, but he felt weird thinking such thoughts in his presence. He blushed. Even’s eyes were still shining when he stopped laughing. _Like, unfairly pretty._

Isak realised they had been looking at each other for a while. Longer than most people should.

Even shuffled closer to him. Their thighs were touching now. Isak sucked in a breath, praying to whoever that Even hadn’t noticed. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as sandpaper. When he finally focused on Even’s face again, he was biting his lip and looking at him intently. Even almost looked…nervous? Why would he be nervous?

Even cleared his throat and looked down at his fidgeting hands. “I, uh,” he looked up. “I want to…to ask you something.”

“Go ahead,” Isak croaked. He inwardly slapped himself.

Even nodded, pulling his lips in. He shifted his gaze between Isak and the wall behind him. “When…I’m going to have to…kiss her at some point, right? Sonja. If we’re going to be together, I’ll have to kiss her?”

Isak ignored the way that made his gut clench. _Calm the fuck down._ He licked his lips. “Yeah,” he said, nodding overzealously. He probably looked like an idiot. “That’s…that’s usually what people do when they’re together.”

Even pulled his lips inwards again. They sat there silently, avoiding each other’s gaze. The air was weirdly thick. “I…” Even shifted and cleared his throat. He was definitely nervous. Isak felt his heart speed up. “I was wondering,” Even looked at him, “if kissing is the same for land people as it is for merfolk.” Isak felt his cheeks burning like hotplates. “I want to know if I can do it right.”

“Okay,” Isak said slowly. His mind went hazy.

“So…” Even licked his lips. His gaze flickered to Isak’s. “I was thinking we could…we could practise?” Isak’s heart stopped. This was not happening. It couldn’t be. He noticed a pink tinge on both of Even’s cheeks. “But only if you want to,” he added hastily. “You don’t have to, or anything. I get if you think it’s too weird. I just thought that maybe…just so I know I’m doing it right. I don’t know.”

It was happening.

Isak’s heart had lodged itself into his throat. His stomach was doing summersaults. “O-Okay,” he said. His mouth had moved before his mind. He couldn’t think. He was unsure how long it had taken him to answer.

Even’s brows shot up as he looked at Isak with wide eyes. “Okay?”

Isak closed his eyes and nodded his head weirdly. “Okay.”

He heard Even’s exhale. He couldn’t be sure what exactly he was exhaling. Isak couldn’t bear to look at him. Until he felt the bed move. Even got closer to him. Isak felt his body heat, his breath, his hand on his cheek. His body shuddered involuntarily.

“Isak.”

His eyes shot open. No one had whispered his name like that before. He was looking straight into Even’s deep blues. They were closer than they had ever been. His heart was pounding in his chest.

“Isak,” Even said again, like it was a sacred word. “Are you sure this is okay?”

Isak swallowed so hard he felt his head move with it. “I’m sure,” he said, almost too quiet to hear.

“You don’t have to,” Even said just as quietly. He stroked his thumb across Isak’s cheek.

Isak felt his breath hitch. _I want to_ , he thought. _Fuck, I want to._ He didn’t dare say it. “It’s okay,” he said instead.

That was all Even needed to lean his head down. Isak closed his eyes and braced himself. Their lips touched, just the lightest brush. They both opened their eyes. It was hard to see each other with their faces so close. Isak wanted more. He wanted everything. As if hearing his silent pleas, Even closed his eyes again. He pressed their lips together harder. Isak was frozen, his fingers clenched into fists. Even tilted his head and moved his lips to deepen the kiss. Isak’s brain went blank. His body went into autopilot.

Even brought his other hand to Isak’s back as he kissed him, asking for his response. After what seemed an eternity, Isak moved his hands to hold onto Even. He kissed him back eagerly. The kiss moved slowly, but they got more enthusiastic the longer their lips stayed connected. Isak must’ve been going mad. He could’ve sworn he felt Even smile against his lips. It had to be his imagination.

His stomach flipped. His entire body was alive with tingles and heat and butterflies. Butterflies! Isak chuckled. He knew it wasn’t his imagination when Even smiled this time. Isak wrapped his arms tighter around him, pulling him impossibly closer.

Just when he’d gotten used to the idea of doing this and only this for the rest of his life, Even broke the kiss with a pop. He moved his head back to look at Isak. His face was flushed. His lips were plump. Isak just about turned into a puddle at the realisation that Even looked like that because of _him_. “I...I want to try something,” Even said breathlessly. “Can I?”

Isak blinked at him helplessly. Unable to form any coherent words, Isak moved his head in what he hoped was a nod.

They came back together carefully, as if they were trying not to scare the other away. Even deepened the kiss immediately. He brushed his tongue along Isak’s bottom lip. Isak made an embarrassing noise at the back of his throat. He opened his mouth. Even’s tongue glided across his. It felt like they were swimming.

All too soon, it was over. Isak moved his hands to rest lightly on Even’s hips. Even stroked his thumb across Isak’s cheek as he looked in both eyes. “Wow,” Even whispered. It was a breath. It was a song. It was a fear.

Isak cleared his throat, bringing them back into the room, back into reality. They carefully broke apart and shifted away slightly. Only their knees remained touching. “So, was it…is it the same?”

Even looked at him for a long time. “We kiss the same way,” he said, pulling his lips in. He licked them, as if trying to savour Isak’s taste. “But it’s never felt quite like that before.”

Isak stared at him, gobsmacked, lovesick, terrified. There was no way that had meant what he wanted it to. He watched Even’s face drop. The movement was so small, he barely noticed it at all. It was still enough to make him wonder what his own face looked like.

A smile grew on Even’s face. There was something different about it. Something untrue. “Maybe it just feels different above water,” he said.

Isak felt his heart sink. Of course. That’s what he expected. “Uh, yeah. Maybe.” His voice was small.

Even tilted his head, his eyes filled with worry. “That was okay, right?”

Isak coughed and nodded quickly. He didn’t want Even to feel bad about this. He had wanted it. So much, it was embarrassing. He was pathetic. “It was okay.”

“Are we?” Even asked, suddenly shy. “Okay?”

Isak gulped, his throat no longer dry. “We’re okay,” he said. He was proud of how steady his voice was. Even’s shoulders relaxed, but his face was unsure. Isak took pity on him. He gently gave Even’s shoulder a friendly push. “It’s okay, Even. Friends kiss sometimes.”

“Yeah?” He looked hopeful.

Isak sucked it up and gave him a smile. “Yeah.”

“Friends,” Even said softly. Isak kind of wanted to cry.

Friends didn’t make your heart beat like this. 

 

*********

 

“Isak?”

“Mm?”

They were lying on their backs under the duvet. The only light in the room came from the street through Isak’s bedroom window. Isak could only just make out Even’s face.

“Is it…is it normal for boys to like boys here on land?”

Isak felt like his heart had stopped. “Uh…not everyone thinks so,” he noticed a small frown on Even’s face, “but yeah. It is normal.” Breathing had never been so hard for him. Especially with the way Even was looking at him.

“What about you?”

And that.

That had Isak floored. Destroyed. A complete and total mess.

Why did Even want to know? What in great hell was he supposed to say? This would be the perfect opportunity to tell him. Tell him that he gave him butterflies and tingles and that while he was trying to win Sonja over, he should be with _him_ instead. Isak wanted to say all of those things.

He said none of them.

Instead, he turned his head away, looking up at the ceiling. “Nah. I don’t know.”

“Ah.”

He stole a glance at Even when he wasn’t looking. If he were more naive, he’d say Even looked kind of…disappointed. But then again, things looked different in the dark.   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> °A sick vine reference because vine will never die
> 
> Den Store Festen vibes, anyone? I am original.  
> I didn’t really know where I was going with this chapter until the last two scenes, so mmyeah.  
> p.s. The Matilda music video Ulrikke was in has me screaming in Australian. Three cheers for 20gayteen! 
> 
> Could Isak be the one Even is Sea-urchin for?  
> I can not be stopped. 
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


	6. The tide is high

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Interruptions, dancing and crushes  
> Looking for something fun to listen to? Check out the Once in a full moon playlist [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/6yr78itaq8dirmhogtchd08zm/playlist/5NyR7aKUeNOOAuxitO1z8K?si=31G1ydP0QVmGYygNJbPMNw) on spotify!
> 
> I should get into marketing.

 

It was easy pretending everything was normal.

Isak and Even could pretend they had never kissed. They were fine. Nothing was weird. Not at all.

Except it was weird.

It was unbelievably weird and they were not fine.

They moved around each other awkwardly the next day. The constant touching stopped. They avoided the other’s gaze. The conversation was stilted. It was even more uncomfortable than the silence.

Was it possible to miss someone who was right in front of you?

Isak didn’t realise how much he’d missed their joking around until Even made some stupid crack about sea urchins the following day. He was so thankful for it, he couldn’t even bring himself to roll his eyes like he usually would. Instead, he laughed until he nearly cried. Even laughed with him just as hard.

They came down from the high, mirth in their eyes and grins on their faces. Even pulled his lips in and tried to look at Isak seriously. It didn’t really work. He looked too happy. “Are we okay now?” he asked timidly. “For real this time?”  

Isak tried to wipe his smile away, but it wouldn’t budge. “We’re okay. For real.”

Even sighed in relief and shuffled closer to Isak on the couch. “Good. Yesterday was…It sucked.”

“Yes.” Isak agreed with a relieved laugh. “It did.” He felt all the tension slowly leave his body and gladly bid it farewell.

“I didn’t like not talking to you,” Even said softly.

It was the kind of confession that made Isak’s heart melt and his stomach flutter. He was a lost cause.

Isak tried to joke about it. “Missed my genius insight?”

Even didn’t laugh. He looked at him honestly. “I did.” Isak gulped. “I missed you.”

They looked at each other – really looked at each other – for the first time since their kiss. Isak didn’t know what to say. His brain was scattered and his breath had been stolen. He knew his face was burning.

Even smiled softly at him. After a short moment, he got to his feet. “I just thought,” he said, bouncing around on the spot. It made Isak smile. “The dance is tomorrow and I have no idea how to dance.”

Isak quirked a brow. “And you’re telling me, why?”

“You can teach me.”

“You’re kidding?”

Even frowned at him playfully. “Why would I be?”

“What makes you think I know how to dance?”

“Because you’ve had legs and feet your whole life.” Even nudged Isak’s socked foot with his own bare one. “You can’t tell me you’ve _never_ danced in all that time.”

Isak crossed his arms over his chest like the mature grown-up he was. “Of course I have.”

“Then you can show me how.” Even held a hand out to Isak. He was giving him a cheeky, expectant smile. “Pleeeaaase?”

Isak rolled his eyes and took Even’s hand. He let him pull him to his feet and made sure to sigh extra loudly. Even laughed at him. “I’m not an expert or anything,” Isak warned him. “Not even close.”

“I’m sure you’re better than you think,” Even said.

Isak squinted. “If we look like idiots at this thing, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“At least we’ll look like idiots together.” Even gave his hand a squeeze, reminding Isak that they were still touching. The touch was cooling and smooth like it always was. How had he lasted a full day without this?

Like Even’s first week on land, they were standing just a little too close. Isak cleared his throat and dropped Even’s hand. He reached for his phone on the couch and brought up spotify. “What- uh,” he cleared his throat again, “we’ll need music, so…”

“Can I pick?” Even held his hand up.

Isak squinted at him and handed the phone over cautiously. He watched Even scroll for a while. “If you pick something lame, I’m quitting.”

Even huffed, feigning offence. “Don’t you trust me?” He was trying and failing to hold back a smile.

All Isak could do was roll his eyes. Even chuckled. Isak felt his cheeks turn pink again. A small smile tugged at his lips. _This goddamn boy._

Weezer’s ‘Island in the sun’ began to play. Isak’s small smile slowly grew into a big grin. Even smiled back at him. “You like this song?”

“I haven’t heard it since I was a kid.”

This was more than just a song. It was a memory. When Isak was six, Lea blasted it from her cd player so loud it shook the whole house. Mamma nagged her until Lea grabbed her hands and made her dance with her. Isak crept into the room to watch. When mamma spotted him, she pulled him close to join in. The three of them jumped around the room like idiots even after the song was over.

Isak smiled wistfully. Even put the phone down and moved closer to him. “Alright?”

“Yeah.”

Even gave him a kind smile. “So, are you gonna show me how land people do it, or not?”

Isak blinked, remembering what he had agreed to do. _Why the fuck._

“Well?”

“Uh…” Isak shuffled his feet awkwardly. He laughed when Even copied him. “I haven’t started yet!”

“Come on, then!”

Isak shook his head. He had a big, goofy smile on his face. “It’s weird because I’ve never thought about it before. Like, I’ve never thought ‘this is how to dance’ while I’m dancing. I just…do it.”

“So do it.”

Isak narrowed his eyes. Even did the same. “Ugh, fuck it!” Isak started moving around, finding the beat quickly. “I guess you just…bop around.” He swayed his body and bopped his head. Even copied the movements. If he looked half as ridiculous as Even, Isak knew he was doing something wrong. He burst out laughing and stopped.

“What?” Even moved his head around like an owl.

“This isn’t working.”

Even frowned and kept on ‘dancing’. He jerked his hips clumsily. “Why not? I’m having a good time.”

“Of course you are.” Even gave him a wide smile. Isak couldn’t bear to watch the sight in front of him a moment longer. “Okay, stop. Stop.” They were both giggling like children. Isak tried to think. _An island in the sun. Islands. Beaches…Water!_

“Think of it like swimming,” Isak said. He made a rolling movement with his hand.

Even moved his hand the same way. “Like riding a wave.”

“Like riding a wave.” They both begun to sway more fluidly.

Seeing Even enjoy himself so much put a happy smile on Isak’s face. “That’s better.”

Even waggled his brows at him. “Some would say I’ve spent a lot of time in the water.”

Isak shook his head at him with a laugh. “You’re a dork.”

“Me?” Even pointed to himself, looking shocked.

“Yes you.” They were so close, Isak had to tilt his head up slightly to look at Even. He didn’t know when they’d gotten in each other’s personal space.

“You know, I thought you had to hold the other person to dance with them,” Even said.

“Like partner dancing?”

Even nodded. The movement was small. If he’d made it any bigger, his face would’ve collided with Isak’s. “In movies, the people are always touching each other when they dance. Paris held Juliet’s hand when they danced together.”

“Romeo + Juliet?” Even hummed in conformation. Isak squinted at him. “How many times have you watched that?”

“Four.”

“I’m not even surprised.”

Even shrugged. “I like romance.” His voice was gentle and quiet, like he was sharing a secret only for Isak’s ears.

Isak felt the mood of the room shift. It was weirdly intimate. He swallowed hard. Even watched the bob of his adam’s apple. “People do touch when they dance. It depends on the song.”

He saw Even hesitate before putting his hands on Isak’s waist. “Like this?”

The touch burned.

Isak’s breath caught in his throat. He swallowed painfully. With trembling fingers, Isak rested his hands on Even’s shoulders. Their hold on each other was gentle. “Uh, yup. L-like this.”

When the fog in Isak’s brain cleared, he noticed the song had changed. ‘My my my’ by Troye Sivan was playing. _A song about two boys._ They swayed together slowly, their faces close. Isak looked down shyly. Even gave his body a light squeeze. Isak looked up to give him a glare, but got distracted by Even’s big smile. He was helpless against it.

The song faded and changed into something Isak didn’t recognise. They stopped moving but kept their hold on each other. Even stared at Isak with shining eyes. Isak stared back, his heart stuck in his throat. Even moved his head closer. Isak got ready to close his eyes.

“Yoohoo!” Lea sang, flinging the front door open. They boys jumped apart quickly. Lea stopped where she was. Isak looked up at her warily. Her eyes were wide. Obviously they hadn’t been quick enough. “I didn’t interrupt something, did I?”

For the first time ever, Even looked stunned. His cheeks were just as red as Isak’s. After a few seconds of unbearably awkward silence, Even gave her his usual big smile. “Isak was teaching me how to dance.”

She raised her brows, not bothering to hide her amusement. “Isak? Dancing?”

“Shut up,” Isak chuckled quietly. He dug his toe into the floor.

“He used to love shaking his little butt around as a kid,” she told Even.

“Really?” Even’s voice was teasing. Isak couldn’t meet anyone’s eye just yet.

“I’m sure I’ve got old videos somewhere…”

Isak snapped his head up. “Destroy them.”

“But you were so cute!”

“Were?” Isak squared his shoulders. “What am I now?”

Lea gave him a once over. “Ugly.”

Isak scoffed while Even laughed beside him. “You’re uglier.”

Lea poked her tongue out at him. Isak pulled a silly face. It was the height of maturity.

“No one in this room is ugly,” Even said.

“Oh, I know,” Lea said, giving him a wink. Isak hid his eye roll from her. “I have something for you.” She lifted a plastic bag in her hand up and walked over to them. “I thought you might want something of your own for the dance instead of wearing Isak’s clothes.”

Even took the bag from her and peaked inside. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Pft! I’ve always wanted to be a fairy godmother,” Lea said.

Even looked at her bashfully. “But, you let me into your home and-”

“ _And_ I just felt like doing something nice. It was no bother.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re going to look dapper!” Lea turned her gaze on Isak. “You too, young man.”

Isak scrunched his nose. “Why do you sound more and more like an old lady every day?”

Lea gave him a sassy look. “Why are you such a little shit?”

Isak shrugged. “It’s in the genes.”

 

*********

 

They arrived at Nissen three minutes after 14:30. Sana paced over to them the second they stepped into the gym.

“You’re late,” she said.

“Guess you’ll have to light the pyre,” Isak said.

Sana rolled her eyes at him, failing to mask her amusement. “Go put your bags in the locker rooms and get back here.”

The boys did exactly as they were told, no questions asked. When they returned to the gym, Vilde appeared next to them out of thin air. “You’re here!” Isak checked the floor for a secret hatch while she spoke. “Isn’t this exciting?!”

Even nodded enthusiastically. “It’ll be a fun night.”

“Do you think so?” Vilde was bouncing on the spot. “We really want it to go well.”

“It will,” Even said. “You’ve worked really hard.”

Vilde looked grateful for all of two seconds before her expression turned serious. “Not yet.” She clapped her hands together. “Eva and the others are waiting just there,” she pointed to a table covered in decorations. Eva, Noora, Linn, Chris and Elias stood around it, sorting through the things they had. “Let’s go, boys!” She flitted away, leaving Isak and Even to stare after her.

“She’s funny,” Even chuckled.

“At least she’s in a good mood,” Isak said.

They joined the others at the decorations table. Eva smiled at both of them. “There you are!”

“The team is fully assembled,” said Linn.

“Come check this out,” Chris said, waving them closer. “Elias brought fairy lights.”

“Won’t we need extensions chords?” Noora asked. She looked up at the high ceiling. “And ladders?”

“The storage room,” said Elias. “Sana said it’s got what we need.”

“The storage room has everything,” Eva said. She grabbed onto Noora’s arm. “Didn’t you and William hook up in there once?”

Noora gave a nervous laugh. “I didn’t want everyone in the world to know about that.”

“These guys?” Eva quickly looked at everyone and then back at Noora. “They’re not gonna tell anyone,” she said light heartedly.

Even placed a hand over his heart. “Word of honour.”

“I’m a man of my word,” said Linn.

Noora shook her head with a small smile on her face. “If I hear rumours, I’ll know who to come after.”

“This stuff is really cool,” Isak said, looking at the table. There were assortments of blue curtains, nautical-themed sculptures, blow up palm trees, streamers made out of sea shells. There were a few extra things Isak didn’t know about. “Oh,” he said, remembering his contribution. He placed an unopened packet of flamingo and pineapple balloons on the table.

Eva picked them up to have a look. “These are going to really be cute.”

“Where do we start?” Even asked. He set a few rolls of ribbon on the table.

“Why don’t we start with setting all the tables up?” Noora suggested. “Food and administration…” She looked around the gym. “Five should cover it.”

“Sounds about right,” Eva said.

With all seven chipping in, they had the tables up in no time at all. Since they were the tallest, Isak and Even were tasked with hanging up the curtains and lights along the walls. They took turns of who went up the ladder and who held it still. Jonas walked over to Isak while Even was up fiddling with a tangle in the lights.

“What’s up?” he greeted.

Isak shook his hand. “Mind numbing boredom.”

Jonas huffed a laugh. “It’s really chill in the kitchen. Mahdi’s and my parents are best friends now.”

“You can have dinner parties and sleepovers,” Isak joked.

The ladder rocked and Isak tightened his hold on it. Jonas looked up at Even. He watched him briefly before looking back at Isak. “Are you two cool now?”

“We’re cool,” Isak said, hoping his face and voice were calmer than he felt.

“You were so weird on Friday. Even my sister noticed.”

“Is she coming tonight?” Isak asked, trying to change the subject. Every time Isak remembered their kiss, he got breathless. Then there was that moment yesterday. They hadn’t talked about that.

“With a couple friends,” Jonas answered. “She got out of helping.”

Isak laughed. “She’s good at that.”

Jonas nodded, glad at least someone got it. “But seriously,” he took a quick glance at Even. “Did something happen? You hardly looked at him. And he wasn’t all over you like he usually is.”

Isak felt a blush coming on. He willed it away. “He’s not all over me.”

“He’s all over everyone,” Jonas said. His shaggy hair shook with his head. “Especially you, dude.”

Isak tried to scoff. Jonas raised his brows at him. Isak cleared his throat, trying to come up with a quick lie. Under no circumstances could he tell him the truth. What would he think? “It’s nothing,” Isak said lamely. “We, uh – we just…he walked in on me naked.”

Jonas smirked. “Seriously?” Isak nodded quickly. Jonas laughed. “That is so good!”

Isak should have been annoyed his friend got so much amusement out of his embarrassment, but he was glad Jonas bought it. “It was…” he waved his hand around, searching for an appropriate word, “weird.”

“Classic,” Jonas said, still laughing.

“Anyway, we got over it,” Isak said. “Everything’s cool.”

“Good,” Jonas said genuinely. “I don’t know, it was weird seeing you two like that.”

“I know,” Isak said. He’d felt it. The strain was awful. He was glad it was gone.

“Isak, can you- oh, hey Jonas,” Even said from the top of the ladder. Jonas nodded at him. “How’s it going in the kitchen?”

“Mostly bonding over fish.”

“Sounds like my kind of scene,” Even said.

Julie Vasquez’s voice carried loudly from the room they were using as the kitchen. “Jonas! We need you.” She popped her head out the door and spotted Isak. “Hey, honey.” She pointed at Jonas. “Back here, mister.”

Jonas gave her a salute. “Have fun with your curtains,” he said to the boys as he backed away.

“Have fun with your crabs,” Isak called when Jonas got further away. He looked up and saw Even staring at him. “Uh, did you want me to do something?”

Even blinked like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. “Uh – I…yes.” He laughed awkwardly. “Can you pass me some tape, please?”

Isak bit a piece of electrical tape off the roll and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed when Even took it. He felt stupid tingles spread through his hand and up his arm. Somehow, they managed to reach his neck. His fucking neck! Isak shivered.

He was absolutely fucked.

 

*********

 

“Do I look good, or what?” Eva posed for everyone.

They gave her a big applause, complete with a few whistles. “Yummy,” Eskild said.

She placed a hand on her cheek. “Oh, stop.”  

Vilde walked into the locker rooms, looking anxious. “Everyone’s dressed?”

“Everyone’s dressed,” Eskild said. They’d all finished their preparations and been given time to make themselves beautiful.

“Everything’s ready?”

“Everything’s ready,” Magnus confirmed. He gave her a double thumbs up.

Vilde let out a shaky breath.

“Are you alright?” Even asked. Isak was distracted by how good he looked. He was wearing a blue shirt and black jeans. Lea had chosen well.

Vilde gulped. “People will be showing up in twenty minutes. I just want to make sure everyone has a good time.”

“They will, Vilde,” Noora said calmly.

“But – but what if-”

“Chill, girl,” Mahdi said. “We got this.”

“Everything’s under control,” Noora said. “The gym looks great. Everyone’s ready. It’ll be fine. Better than fine.”

Vilde nodded, taking a deep breath. She looked around at everyone. “You all look nice.”

Chris put her hands on her chest. “This old thing?”

“You look hot, girl,” Eva said. Chris gave her a wink.

“You look nice, too, Vilde,” Isak said. He wondered if she’d been told today. She deserved to hear it. Jonas and Eva gave Isak a pat on the back.

Vilde blushed and ducked her head. She played with the bottom of her skirt, a smile on her face. “Thanks.”

Sana appeared behind Vilde, wearing a pretty blue outfit and a yellow hijab. She stepped further into the room to see everyone. “Eighteen minutes til go-time,” she told them.

“When did my sister get so grown up?” Elias teased.

“Shush,” she chastised. “Everyone all good?”

Several ‘yeps’, ‘uh huhs’ and other affirmative noises sounded around the room. Magnus threw in a ‘hell ye-ah’.

Sana gave a single nod. “Good.” She gestured to the decorative team. “You guys did a great job.”

“It was all me,” Eva said.

Noora and Chris gave her a playful push. “Yeah right!”

“You can all enjoy the party,” Sana told them. “Just keep an eye out for any mess. Other than that, your job is done until cleanup.”

Vilde nudged her with her elbow. “Should we stand out the front?”

“Mm hm. Let’s go.” They both turned to leave.

“Oh, Sana?” Eskild called. She turned back. “You look beautiful.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

The smile Sana gave him was brighter than Isak had ever seen. It was nice seeing people happy, Isak decided.

The girls started talking about some ‘Yousef’ guy Sana was going to impress and Isak tuned out. While he was daydreaming, he hadn’t noticed Even move next to him. Even bumped their shoulders, getting his attention. Isak jumped and looked at him. He gave Even an embarrassed smile. “Hi.”

Even smiled back, his face tender. “Hi.” They leaned back on the lockers, arms touching. “I wanted to say you look really nice, too.”

Isak looked down at his shoes. He felt his face heat up. “You too.”

 

*********

 

Ridiculous pop music blared from the speakers. People were everywhere; dancing, laughing and eating. Isak’s stomach let out a loud, vengeful growl.

Even chuckled and leaned in. “Want to share a crab…thingy with me?”

“A crab thingy?” Isak smirked.

“I don’t remember what Mahdi said it was called.”

The mood was easy and upbeat. “Aren’t you waiting for your _girlfriend_?” Isak teased. He was trying to scope out Even’s reaction. He didn’t know how much Even had talked to her the past three days.

Even shrugged, his peacefully joyous expression unchanging. “We’ll eat fast.”

Isak smiled at his earnest face. “Okay.”

They ate off the same plate, holding it together. Whatever it was had Isak’s mouth watering with every bite. “Damn.”

Even bopped his head, his mouth full. “Mmm!” he agreed with zeal. A smear of sauce was on his cheek. He looked like a toddler all over again.

Isak laughed softly and reached over to wipe it off. His hand lingered. Even swallowed his food and looked in both of Isak’s eyes. He let Isak touch him.

A loud ping from Isak’s phone broke the spell. They moved apart and Even brought the phone out of his pocket. “Uh…Sonja’s here,” he said, sounding a little guilty. Isak didn’t know why. They both looked towards the entrance, and sure enough, Sonja was standing there looking gorgeous in a red dress. Even cleared his throat and handed the plate to Isak. “I should…”

“Go,” Isak said, forcing a smile that felt fake, fake, fake. “Have fun.”

Even looked over his shoulder at Isak with a strange look on his face. It was almost wistful. That couldn’t be right. Why would Even want to hang out with Isak when he could be with Sonja?

Isak watched them meet. They shared a brief hug and Even took Sonja’s hand. He led her onto the dance floor. Isak’s heart sank.

“Hey, pretty boy,” Chris said. Isak startled, dropping his plate. “Sorry,” Chris laughed nervously. Until now, he didn’t know she could get nervous. They leant down together with a few napkins to clean the small mess off the floor. “So, just tell me; do I have any chance in the world?”

“Huh?”

She looked at him seriously, somehow still managing to make it look soft. “You know what I’ve been doing. I’m not hiding it. So tell me; do I have a shot? Or should I give up?”

Isak laughed uncomfortably. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. “Uh…Chris-”

“You don’t have to worry about hurting my feeling,” Chris said. She rose to her feet. Isak followed, unable to look away from her. “I’ll be okay. I just want to know so I don’t have to be waiting here, thirsty over someone who’s not interested.”

Isak coughed. “I, uh…uh…” he sighed. “No.”

“Right.”

“It’s not that – I mean, you’re great and everything-”

“I know,” Chris said. She laughed at Isak’s deer-in-the-headlights expression. “Like I said, you don’t have to worry about me.” She shrugged. “Now I know.”

“Sorry.”

Chris smiled softly at him. “It’s cool.”

A gangly boy approached them on bouncy feet. He was playing with his hands nervously. Isak thought his name was Kasper, or something. “Uh, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No,” Isak said easily.

Kasper nodded his head rapidly. He sucked in a breath. “Good. Good.” He slowly flitted his eyes to Chris. “Um, well, you know how we were-” he stopped to laugh, “-talking about electric chemistry on facebook?”

Chris nodded at him, her eyes wide.

Kasper let out another nervous laugh. “Well, I was – was thinking that maybe you and _I_ had that going on. Maybe.” Chris blinked at him. “Electric chemistry.” He shook his head and lowered his gaze. “It sounds stupid, but yeah. Um, I like you, I guess and I was wondering if…if you want to dance with me?”

Chris stared at him, gobsmacked. “You…like me?”

“Since we were like, fifteen.”

A slow smile grew on Chris’s face. Kasper’s face lit up when he saw it. Chris held a hand out to Kasper. “Yes. I’ll dance with you.” Kasper took her hand happily and pulled her towards the dance floor. “See you, Isak!” Chris called.

Isak smiled after them. It was like a scene right out of one of Even’s cheesy movies. He wondered why he couldn’t be as brave as that Kasper kid. He searched the crowd until he found Even. He was dancing with Sonja. She was laughing. They looked happy.

“Hey, man!” Jonas’s voice startled Isak.

He was over being scared like an idiot today. “Hey,” he said, trying to calm himself down. His eyes found Even again.

Jonas leaned in closer. “You like him, don’t you?”

Isak whipped his head around at Jonas with wide eyes. “What?”

Jonas turned to look at Even and Sonja. Isak followed the gaze. They watched them for a while. Isak felt like he was getting punched. There was no point in trying to hide it anymore.

He sighed sadly. “Yeah,” Isak said quietly. His heart was pounding in his ears while he awaited Jonas’s response.

“I get it,” Jonas said. “He’s a cool guy.” Isak felt Jonas’s eyes on him. He couldn’t look at him. “Why don’t you tell him?”

Isak huffed. “Tell him what?”

“That you like him,” Jonas said simply.

“Why would I do that?”

Jonas leaned in so their upper arms were touching. Isak felt him shrug against him. “To find out how he feels.”

Isak closed his eyes. “I already know how he feels.” He finally snuck a quick look at Jonas. He looked relaxed. It calmed Isak a little. “He likes Sonja.”

Jonas shrugged again. “Maybe. But how do you know he doesn’t like you more?”

It was Isak’s turn to shrug. His shoulders slumped back. “What if he doesn’t?”

They were quiet for a while. “You don’t have to do anything,” Jonas told him. Isak met his eyes. “But if you never ask, you’ll never know.”

It was a good point. Either way, Isak was afraid of what the answer might be. He stepped away from Jonas. “I have to…I’ll be back.” He dashed out the door and into the locker rooms without looking back.

Once he was there, he let out a strained breath he’d been holding in. Tears came to his eyes. He blinked them away. Now was not the time or place. He just needed a moment alone. Even was never going to like him back. But that wasn’t all Isak feared. What he felt was more than like. He was really…falling for him. Isak let out another breath that sounded more like a sob.

Why was he such a loser? Why couldn’t he just suck it up and tell him? Or get over it?

“Isak?”

His heart froze up. Even walked in with concern etched on his face. He walked closer to Isak immediately. Isak swallowed and tried to straighten up.

“Hey,” Even said gently. He reached him and rubbed Isak’s upper arms. “What’s wrong?”

“How do you always know?” Isak asked. It was barely above a whisper.

“I’m pretty intuitive,” Even said. He quirked a brow. “You know, for a fish.”

Isak laughed weakly. Only Even could get a genuine smile out of him when he was feeling like utter shit. “You’re not a fish.” His voice was small. He felt like a child.

Even put a hand on Isak’s cheek. He observed him carefully. There was no way he missed the unshed tears in Isak’s eyes. Isak’s battered heart was beating too hard for him to care. Even took his hand back. Before Isak had time to be disappointed, Even enveloped him in a warm hug. Isak took a few seconds to respond. After the shock wore off, he wrapped his arms around him just as tight.

It was the longest hug they’d ever shared. Their chests were pressed together. Isak let himself be comforted by Even’s heart beating next to his own.

“Even? I – Oh.” Sonja had wandered in.

Even gave Isak another squeeze before slowly untangling himself from him. He kept one arm around Isak’s shoulders. “What’s up?”

Sonja stood by the door awkwardly. “Everything okay?”

Even squeezed Isak’s shoulder with his hand. “Yeah. Isak just needed a hug.”

Sonja nodded, looking unsure. “Uh…I was going to ask if you wanted to get something to drink, but if I interrupted something…”

“It’s okay,” Isak said before Even could speak. He got out of Even’s hold. “You can go.”

“Are you sure?” Even asked, worry still clear on his face.

“We don’t have to,” Sonja added. She looked genuinely concerned, despite barely knowing him. And yeah. Isak could get why Even liked her.

Making up his mind, Isak shook his head and gave them a smile. He was feeling better after that hug. “I’m fine. I am,” he insisted. “You two go. Enjoy your night.”

“Uh…okay,” Even said hesitantly. “If you need anything.”

Isak waved him off. Even slowly walked to Sonja, his gaze remaining on Isak. She offered him her arm. He took it and after one final look, they left.

Isak exhaled loudly. “Shit.”

 

*********

 

“Woo!” Magnus shook his hair wildly.

He had left his playlist to Elias and dragged Isak to the dance floor. He coerced him into dancing with him, Jonas and Mahdi. They were mostly jumping around like idiots. Isak decided he should’ve had a beer or four before this thing.

“I’m sweating like a manatee, bro!” Magnus shouted over the music.

“Do manatees even sweat?” Mahdi asked.

Magnus raised his hands and shrugged. “They’re super wet all the time.”

“That sounds sick, dude,” Jonas groaned.

“Get your head out of the gutter, Vasquez,” Isak teased.

“Hey, you know they think manatees are behind the mermaid myth?” Magnus said.

“Oh really?” Isak shared a secretive look with Jonas.

Magnus nodded enthusiastically while he danced. “They think a drunk sailor saw one with seaweed on its head and thought it was a chick with a fish tail.” He let out a whooping laugh. “Imagine being that far gone!”

“Interesting,” Jonas said, tongue-in-cheek.

“Speaking of chicks,” Mahdi puffed, “the dancer girls are here.” He pointed at a group of girls dancing in front of the speakers. They all looked like blonde clones of each other. “They are fiiine.”

Isak heard a loud gasp from a few metres away. “I am so sorry!” a voice exclaimed. It sounded like Eva.

He raised his head to peer over the dancing people around him and saw Eva trying to dab Even’s shirt with napkins. It took Isak a second to realise what that meant. He had gotten wet!

Even locked eyes with Isak, looking frantic. He quickly moved past Eva and ran for the locker rooms. Eva cha sed after him guiltily.

Isak looked at Jonas. Judging by the look on his face, he had seen everything. “We’ll be back,” Jonas said. Magnus and Mahdi were so busy drooling over the dancer chicks, they barely noticed. Together, Isak and Jonas hurried towards the locker rooms.

They heard Eva’s startled “What the fuck!” from just outside.

“I’ll keep watch,” Jonas said. “Make sure no one else comes in.”

Isak nodded quickly. With a sigh, he walked in. Even was lying on his stomach, his magnificent blue tail behind him. Eva stood beside the door, staring down at him in shock.

“Uh…surprise…!” Even said lamely.

Eva noticed Isak standing beside her. “Okay, what the fuck is happening right now?” She laughed like she couldn’t believe her eyes. “Is this a prank?” She took their silence as an answer. Her face dropped. “It’s not.”

“Nope.” Isak bit his lip.

 She looked back and forth between Isak and Even a few times. “I can’t believe this.” She brought her hands to her head.

“I get that a lot,” Even remarked. Isak gave him a pointed look. Even shrugged at him. It was the Lea incident all over again. At least that time they were at home. There was a lot more danger in popping a tail in public.

“You’re a merman,” Eva said slowly.

“That’s what they call me.”

“Okay,” Eva said, half talking to herself. She paced for a bit, fingers tangled in her hair. Isak could almost hear her thinking. She stopped and looked at Even, dropping her hands. “And I almost exposed you in front of everyone.”

Even looked unbothered. “It was an accident.”

“Still.” She turned her body to face Even and clasped her hands behind her back. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

She squinted at him. “You’re not really from Drammen, are you?”

“I’m not.”

She looked at Isak. “Does Jonas know?”

Isak nodded, feeling like he was betraying his friend somehow. He didn’t know what Eva’s wrath was like.

“They found me,” Even told her. “In your pool.”

Eva’s eyes went wide. “My pool?” She frowned before realisation dawned on her. “That storm! I got Jonas to put the pump in the pool.” Even nodded. “You washed in?”

“I did,” Even said. “I needed help and was lucky enough to be found by two people who could.” He gave Isak his version of a wink.

“And if I had done it myself, I would’ve found you,” Eva said with a trace of excitement in her voice. She gave both boys a smile. “Holy shit! This is just like ‘The Little Mermaid’! Or that Australian show!”

Even laughed at her sudden giddiness. “Will you keep my secret?”

“Of course!” exclaimed Eva. “Mermaids actually exist! All my dreams are coming true!”  

“I’m gonna need a towel,” Even said.

Eva stopped her little dance and walked over to a locker. The boys watched her pull a grey towel out of it. “Tada! Will this do?”

Even rolled onto his back. “Perfectly.” Eva tossed him the towel. He dried off his tail quickly. Isak’s eyes were just as wide as Eva’s when Even transformed into floating water, before turning back into human form.

“Whoa,” Eva said.

“I forgot you could do that,” Isak said in awe.

Even climbed to his feet and brushed his pants. “What?”

“Turn into water.”

“Oh yeah.” Even shrugged and handed the towel back to Eva. “No big deal.” He gave Isak another attempted wink. Isak chuckled quietly to himself.

Eva held the towel to herself and looked at Even suspiciously. “Hang on.” Both boys turned to her. “What’s with your interest in Sonja, then? You’re not planning to like, put her under some weird spell, are you?”

Isak and Even laughed softly. “I mean no harm to anyone, I swear,” Even said.

They started out of the locker rooms together. Jonas was waiting outside like he said he’d be. “Jonas will tell you everything,” Isak said.

“Huh?” Jonas looked at Eva with a touch of dread.

“Have fun, bye!” Isak said quickly as he walked back into the party.

Even grabbed his arm before he could disappear. “Are you feeling better now?”

“I’m good,” Isak said. He meant it. He raised a brow at Even. “This has got to be the worst kept secret in history.”

“She won’t try to sell me to a museum will she?”

Isak patted his arm. “Only if you’re good.”  

 

*********

 

When Isak found Magnus and Mahdi again, Magnus was holding an icepack to his face.

“What happened to you?”  

“Vilde,” Magnus said miserably. He moved the pack away to show Isak a bright red hand mark.

“What the?”

“Dude tried to kiss her,” Mahdi explained. “She did not take it well.”

Isak gave Magnus’s shoulder a few pats. “That’s because you need to ask first.”

“Yeah, with all the girlfriends you’ve had,” Magnus grumbled.

Isak scoffed and took his hand back. “How do you know I’ve never had a girlfriend?”

Magnus gave him a cheeky smile. “You just told me.”

“This isn’t the first time someone’s hit you, is it?” Isak shot back.

Magnus pressed the icepack back to his cheek. “She really knows how to slap.”

“You didn’t try to feel her up too, did you?”

“No!” Magnus winced at the pain and shifted the icepack. “I’d never do that.”

Mahdi gave him a few pats on his other shoulder. “Still can’t kiss someone until you’re sure they want to.”

“I’m an idiot,” Magnus sighed.

“You just don’t know how to read the signs,” Mahdi said, aiming for comforting.

Magnus huffed humourlessly. “Yeah. I’m an idiot.”

“Now, that guy knows how to get it,” Mahdi said approvingly.

Isak followed his gaze to see Eskild dancing with his arms around some dark haired guy. He gulped, wondering if he’d ever feel comfortable to do that in front of so many people. The fear in his gut settled a bit when he remembered that Jonas knew and he didn’t seem to mind.

“Man,” Magnus complained. “Sometimes I wish I was gay.”

Isak raised an eyebrow at him. “You’d probably be just as much of a mess.” Magnus gave him a push.

“He’s right, dude,” Mahdi laughed. “You’re way too desperate.”

“How am I desperate? I am so chill!”  

Isak looked at Eskild again and saw Emma standing against the wall behind him. There was a frown on her face and fire in her eyes. Isak darted his eyes around to try and see what was making her so angry. He stopped his search when his gaze landed on Even and Sonja dancing together.

“I’ll be back,” Isak said.

“Take all the time you need,” Mahdi said, a knowing look on his face. Apparently he had seen him looking at Emma.

Isak shuddered as he walked towards her. He just wanted to talk to her, not marry her. She uncrossed her arms when she saw him approaching. “Hey,” she said apprehensively.

Isak stood next to her, leaning back on the wall. “Hey.” They were quiet for a beat. “So…Even and Sonja, huh?”

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, _Even and Sonja_.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

“You don’t have to worry about Even,” Isak assured her. “He’s a good guy.”

Emma huffed again. She looked down at her feet. “I _know_ he is.”

Isak stared at Emma long and hard. “Are you…are you jealous?” Emma didn’t answer. She sniffed and dug her left heel into the ground. “But you – I thought – you’ve hardly even talked to him.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, I haven’t.”

Isak frowned. He let his back press against the cool wall as he stared into the crowd. A thought struck him. It couldn’t be. He looked at Emma, then at Sonja and then back at Emma. Isak pulled his lips in, unsure how to broach this. Now he knew how Jonas must have felt earlier. He shook his head. _Fuck it._

“You’re not jealous of Sonja, are you?” Emma was silent. Isak took in a breath and pressed on as gently as he could. “You’re – You don’t – Because you,” he got himself together and said the last two words quietly, “like her.”

Emma shut her eyes and Isak knew. He wasn’t so alone after all.

“I just…” Emma lifted her head and looked at Isak with tear-filled eyes. “There’s no way she’d like me back. Why would she?”

“I know the feeling.”

Emma raised her eyebrows. “You like Sonja too?” Isak swallowed and shook his head. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Emma leaned back against the wall and laughed. “This is like some kind of lame gay rom-com.”

Isak tensed up at the word. He knew it was true, but he’d never actually thought it before. He always just thought of himself as someone who likes boys. Not as…gay.

Emma looked alarmed. “Oh. Are you not…?”

Isak sighed. “No, I – I guess I’ve just never said it before.”

Emma nodded her understanding and for the first time, Isak thought he could like her. “Neither have I. Not to anyone else.”

Isak gave her a small smile. “I’m the first, then?”

Emma rolled her eyes again but smiled. “Big deal.”

But it was a big deal. They both knew it was.

They looked at each other silently for a couple seconds. Emma gave him a small, shy smile. “I’m gay,” she said quietly.

Isak returned the smile, his heart pounding like mad. “I…I’m gay too.” The words felt foreign on his tongue. But he liked it. It felt right. He almost went into some tirade about how he wasn’t gay-gay just because he liked Even, but he remembered Mahdi’s reaction to watching Eskild dance with a man, and decided it was stupid. So, he wasn’t like Eskild. He wasn’t like Emma either. But he was gay. Gay-gay.

They looked at Even and Sonja again at the worst possible moment. The pair were locked in a kiss. It hurt more than Isak would’ve thought. Did Sonja’s touch burn Even’s skin? Did she make his heart go crazy?

Isak’s heart fell right out of his butt when he realised what song was playing. Island in the sun.

Emma sighed in defeat and pushed herself off the wall. “I’m gonna go.”

“You gonna be okay?”

She looked grateful for the concern. “Are you?”

“We’ll see.”

Emma smiled sadly. “Bye Isak.”

 

*********

 

Jonas put his arm around Isak’s shoulders as they walked to his dad’s van. He let out an exhausted breath. They had spent over an hour cleaning everything up. “I am going to pass out the second I get in bed. I think I’m just going to throw myself on it.”

Isak groaned in agreement. He was sore all over. “Thank Christ it’s over.”

They stumbled a little. “Good news, though. Mahdi’s parents said they’re interested in a partnership.”

“Like, they want your fish?”

“Yeah, for their restaurant.” They stumbled again and Jonas let Isak out of his hold. “Everyone loved the food.”

Isak licked his lips, recalling it. “It was good.”

“Good?” Jonas straightened up proudly and smirked. “It was great.” Isak nodded with a tired smile of his own. “So, um…are you okay? With,” he glanced at Even, who was walking with Julie and Thea several paces behind them. “fish boy and Sonja?”

Isak sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jonas nodded and watched the ground. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “If you ever change your mind.” They looked at each other. “You can always talk to me.”

Isak looked at him for a couple of seconds and smiled. “Thanks.”

“You’re my bro.”

Isak chuckled. “How sweet.”

They all reached the van and climbed in. “No one forgot anything?” Jonas’s dad, Marlon checked.

“Nope!” Thea said.

“Alrighty,” Marlon said in english.

“Thanks for the lift home,” Isak called to the front.

“Not a problem, hun,” Julie said. “We couldn’t have you finding your way home late at night.”

Thea poked Jonas’s side. “The dark is way too scary for you.”

Jonas poked his sister back. “Says you.”

“The night went really well,” Even said after a while.

“It was good fun,” Marlon agreed cheerfully.

Julie looked back. “I saw you with a lovely young lady,” she said. “It looked like you were having a good time.”

Even’s face turned serious. “Yeah,” he said, his voice strained.

 

*********

 

Isak and Even walked into his house in silence. They were both tired. Isak was torn between feeling lovesick and heartbroken after the night. Even was being weird. He was too exhausted to think about why.

The house was dark when they stepped in. Isak went to the bathroom without a word. Even was tucked in bed when he got to his room. “Can you close your eyes?” Isak asked wearily. Even did as he was asked and Isak got undressed. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and climbed under the covers.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

Isak couldn’t help his soft smile. “Yes.”

Even opened his eyes and smiled at Isak. “Goodnight,” he said. Before Isak could reciprocate, he leaned in and planted a big kiss on Isak’s cheek.

“What was that for?”

Even’s face was close. Too close. “Friends kiss sometimes,” he said carefully. Isak remembered what he’d said to Even to reassure him after their kiss.

 _Oh._ Isak tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. “Sometimes.”  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “This is only going be a short fic,” I said into the wind.  
> Alright, this isn’t that long, but it’s longer than the 3 parter I originally had planned. I would have posted an hour ago, but the sight was down. Anyhay, here it is!
> 
> Why is the ocean so salty?  
> Because the land wouldn't wave back.  
> It was being a beach.
> 
> Someone stop me.
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


	7. Mr. Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confessions, love and happily ever afters!
> 
> Have a listen to the Once in a full moon playlist [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/6yr78itaq8dirmhogtchd08zm/playlist/5NyR7aKUeNOOAuxitO1z8K?si=31G1ydP0QVmGYygNJbPMNw) on spotify!
> 
> It's funky fresh ;)

 

When Isak woke, he was surrounded by warmth. He burrowed further into it. It was such a lovely way to wake up. He heard a sigh of content right next to his ear.

Isak’s eyes shot open. Two never ending arms were wrapped around him. His back was pressed against a warm chest. He felt a steady breath in his hair.

He frowned, the grogginess of sleep keeping his mind fuzzy. “What the fuck,” he mumbled. He wriggled away from the warm body beside him enough to get a look at it. Even.

Isak shook his head at himself and lay down again. Who else would it be? He moved back into Even’s warmth, his eyes easily falling shut. He lay there for less than a minute before he opened his eyes with a start. They were cuddling. Even was cuddling him. That was not allowed. Isak carefully lifted Even’s arm and slid to the other side of the bed. He sat up and pressed his back against the headboard. “What the fuck,” he muttered to himself.

Even stirred beside him, making Isak jump. He rolled onto his back with a groan. “’d you say something?” His voice was heavy with sleep. Isak’s stomach did a weird flip. “Isak?”

“Huh?”

Even was looking at him with droopy eyes. He looked so soft. “I thought I heard you say something.”

“Nothing,” Isak said, surprised at the tenderness in his voice. “It was nothing.”

Even smiled up at him. “Sleep well?”

Isak smiled back involuntarily. “Yeah.”

“So did I.” He reached up to brush Isak’s bottom lip with his index finger.

Isak laughed and tried to lean out of his reach. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” Even chuckled. “You have nice lips.”

That stunned Isak into silence. His heart should not be beating this fast this soon after waking up. He made a few attempts to swallow, feeling a sudden thickness in his throat. Why the hell was he reacting to such a simple comment like a total loser? It probably didn’t mean what he wanted it to. Friends could say things like that. Maybe.

He finally managed to clear his throat. “I bet they’re nothing like Sonja’s,” he said. Because he was an idiot.

Even’s smile faltered, but only for a moment. He shrugged his shoulders and traced his finger over Isak’s chin. “I wouldn’t compare them.”

“What do you – you kissed her, didn’t you?” Isak had seen them. The image came back to him with a painful pang. Something ugly sat at the pit of his stomach, waiting to burst.

Even took his hand back. “How do you know that?”

“I – I saw – I mean…” Isak sighed, feeling pathetic. “I saw you. Sorry.”

Even looked at him for a while. Isak tried to ignore the stare, but it burned into his skin. He gave in and met Even’s gaze. Isak couldn’t work out what his expression meant. _Why are you looking at me like that?_

Even sat up, maintaining the gaze. He gulped nervously. Isak was going to ask what was wrong when Even leaned in and pressed the softest kiss to Isak’s lips.

Everything stopped.

Even placed a hand on Isak’s face and kissed him again, this time for longer. Isak didn’t react. He couldn’t react. What the fuck was happening? Why was he doing this? And why did it piss Isak off so much?

Even pulled back, keeping his hand on Isak’s face. Big and cold. He searched Isak’s eyes, a hint of fear in his own. He was right to be fearful.

“What are you doing?” Isak said, his voice cold.

Even’s face dropped. “What-”

Isak took Even’s wrist and moved his hand from his face. “What are you doing?” he repeated. It sounded harsh, even to Isak’s ears. He couldn’t handle this. He knew he had no right. But he was so fucking angry.

“Friends kiss sometimes…” Even said, his voice small and unsure. He shrunk into himself, looking guilty. “You said-”

“No,” Isak said, scooting further away. “They don’t.” He turned and placed his feet on the floor.

“Isak-”    

Isak left the room quickly, without looking back. This was too much. Everything was too much. Even made his head dizzy and his heart hurt. He didn’t get to have this. The constant reminders weren’t fair.

He wasn’t allowed to be in love.

 

*********

 

Isak was a terrible person.

He was such a jerk to Even. The sweetest, silliest boy in the universe.

They hadn’t talked all morning. Isak sulked on his own for half the day. It was his fault, really. He was the one that told Even it was okay. But it wasn’t. Isak wasn’t okay. He couldn’t let Even kiss him and then watch him in Sonja’s arms.

The reality of last night set in. Jonas knew. Isak had said he was gay aloud. To Emma, of all people. After all his hiding and fear and shame. Two people knew who he was. Isak felt sick.

He had lashed out before he knew what was really bothering him. Now, he was huddled against the bathroom wall, his knees pulled in to his chest.

He heard Lea and Even’s voices from the living room. They were laughing. That was good, at least. He hadn’t completely ruined Even’s day. Isak took a several deep, slow breaths. In for four, hold for four, out for four. It calmed him down enough to stop his hands shaking. He slowly rose from the floor. He had to talk to Even.

Slowly, he made his way into the living room, his queasiness making it hard to walk straight. Lea and Even were sitting in their usual spots. Isak stood in the corner of the room, waiting to be noticed.

“Who do you miss the most?” Lea asked.

Even tilted his head in thought. “My friend Frank.”

“One of your merman pals?”

“He’s a lumpfish,” Even said.

Lea gripped the sides of the arm chair. Isak could tell she was holding back laughter. “I thought you didn’t talk to fish,” she said, her voice bouncing.

“I said they don’t talk back,” Even said. Lea gave up trying to hold her giggles in. “Are you laughing at me?” Even put on his ‘offended’ face.

“I’m not laughing,” she laughed.

Isak cleared his throat softly. He slid his right toes on top of his left foot, feeling awkward and uneasy. Both faces turned to look at him. “Ah!” Lea raised her hands expressively. “Brother of mine. You have emerged!”

Isak only gave her a half smile. He glanced at Even shyly. He looked equally timid.

Ever vigilant, Lea got out of her chair. “I’m gonna go read about...the history of…horse shoes.” She gave Isak’s shoulder a pat and slipped out of the room.

Then, they were alone.

Isak stood by the wall uncomfortably. Even cleared his throat. “You alright?”

Isak nodded, his face growing warm. He pushed himself off the wall and walked closer. “I, uh….” Even waited patiently while Isak’s stomach did all kinds of weird shit. “I just wanted…I’m sorry about earlier.”

Even shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I overstepped. I’m the one who should be sorry. I _am_. I am sorry.”

“I didn’t have to be such a dick about it,” Isak mumbled, looking at his feet.

“I get it,” Even said. He reached out a hand to touch Isak, but thought better of it and pulled it back. “I shouldn’t have…kissed you.”

And there it was.

Isak closed his eyes, trying to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. “It’s not what friends do.”

“I know,” Even said quietly. It sounded like a confession.

Isak looked at him. He wore a guilty expression. “Why did you?”

Even pulled his lips in and looked down. He shrugged, looking small. “I don’t know.” They both stared at the floor for a while. With a deep sigh, Even said, “You’re my best friend, Isak.”

That did two things to Isak’s heart. He was the best friend. Just like with Jonas, that’s all he’d ever be. The best friend and nothing more. But knowing that someone as awesome and literally magical as Even considered him to be worthy of being his best friend was…it was incredible. Maybe that could be enough.

He looked at Even, who was still trying his best to avoid his gaze. “You’re my best friend, too.”

Even raised his head timidly. “What about Jonas?” He was teasing, but Isak heard the self-consciousness in it.  

Isak gave him a small smile. It was tender like the feeling in his gut. Slowly, he moved to sit beside Even on the couch. “You can have more than one best friend.”

Even smiled and Isak saw all of the doubt leave his eyes. “Good.” They smiled at each other. “Forgive me?”

Isak chuckled softly and rolled his eyes. “Yes.” He gave Even’s shoulder the lightest push. “Forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to-”

“Even.” Isak gave him a look. “Forgive me.”

Even looked like he was going to argue for half a second before resigning to this. He gave Isak a wry smile. “Alright, fine. I forgive you.”

Maybe Isak wouldn’t get to have Even the way Sonja did. They could be friends. Isak was truly beginning to see just how much that could mean. He was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.

 

*********

 

“Hey,” Jonas greeted. He stepped aside to let Isak in. “The guys are already here.”

Isak snorted. “Since when are they ‘the guys’?”

“They’re guys,” Jonas said with a shrug. They started towards his room. “You’re a guy, I’m a guy. We’re guys.”

“You know when you say a word over and over until it loses all its meaning?” Isak raised a teasing eyebrow.

Jonas raised both eyebrows in response. “You asked.” He pushed open his bedroom door to reveal Magnus and Mahdi sitting on the floor, looking like they belonged there.

“Yooo!” Magnus called. Isak leaned over and shook his hand, then Mahdi’s.

Mahdi tried to look behind Isak. “Where’s uh…that Even guy?”

“Spending some quality time with my sister.”

“Seriously?” Isak didn’t know why Magnus found that so amusing.

“He’s going to see Sonja later,” Isak said. He avoided Jonas’s eyes because he just _knew_ he was looking at him with something akin to pity. Isak couldn’t handle pity. He didn’t want it. He was fine.  

“What’s the deal with those two?” Mahdi asked as Isak sat.

“They were making out at the dance,” Magnus said.

Jonas tossed Isak a cushion to sit on and plopped down next to him. “They weren’t making out,” he said.

“They definitely kissed,” Magnus said.

“Amazing. He managed to get a kiss without a slap in the face,” Mahdi joked.

Magnus kicked his foot. “It still hurts when I think about it.”

“Did you apologize?” Jonas said it with teasing tones, but he was serious.

“Over FaceTime,” Magnus said.

Isak, Jonas and Mahdi all huffed laughs. “FaceTime?!”

Magnus nodded his head and sat up, ready to defend himself. “You told me to give her space!” he said to Mahdi. “I couldn’t talk to her at the party, so I called her the next day.”

“Okay,” Mahdi said, looking like he was preparing to roast him. “But, why FaceTime?”

“I wanted to do it face to face.”

They laughed at him again, but this time Magnus joined in. And well, they had to hand it to him. “It does kind of make sense,” Jonas said.

“Thank you,” Magnus said, with a big grin on his face.

“How did it go?” Mahdi asked.

“It was good. She threatened me to never try anything like that again, but she forgives me,” Magnus said. His smile returned. “I’m taking that as a plus.”

“Whatever you say,” Mahdi laughed.

Jonas rolled a couple joints and passed them around. Each boy took theirs happily. They lit up one by one. The atmosphere was chill. They fell into easy, mindless conversation. They talked about Vilde some more, about school, memes and various past shenanigans. Mostly, there was a lot of laughing. Every little thing was hilarious.

Isak looked around the room, his chest light. For the first time, he thought he’d be fine without Jonas. He wouldn’t be completely lost if he was gone. He still wanted Vasquez Fish to be saved, but Isak knew that he no longer had to barnacle himself to one person. Why did he only have these kinds of revelations when he was high or emotional?

Mahdi showed them a snapchat from his dad. He was with Julie and Marlon Vasquez. The angle was funny and the picture was slightly blurry, but they all had big smiles on their faces. “They’re seriously like best friends, now.”

“Are you guys really going to become partners?” Isak asked.

“Yeah,” Mahdi nodded, putting his phone away. He turned to Jonas. “Mamma said your fish was the easiest thing she’s ever cooked.”

“I won’t say I’m surprised,” Jonas said smugly. He nudged Isak with his elbow. “It was some of the stuff we caught when Even gave my uncle the new spot.”

“That Even guy is amazing,” Magnus said. His head was thrown back and he was staring at the ceiling as if it displayed the most interesting thing in the world. “He gets everyone to like him in two seconds. He gets hot chicks. He gets good fish.” He moved his head heavily and looked at his friends. “He’s amazing.”

Jonas and Mahdi tried not to laugh at him. “You don’t know the half of it,” Isak said.

They ended up going for a walk to sober up and air out the smell of weed from their clothes. Jonas walked them by the lake near his house. There weren’t too many people about. It was perfect. Isak enjoyed the combination of the warm sun and the cool summer breeze on his skin.

“Isn’t that Camille?” Magnus said. Isak followed his gaze to her. She was with Emma.

“Isn’t she the third year girl you tried to hook up with in first year?” Mahdi asked with an amused smirk.

Magnus gave him a harmless shove. “You swore you’d never bring that up again!”

“You should never trust a friend with an embarrassing moment.”

“Shut up. Hey, girls!” He waved frantically with both arms. Camille and Emma waved back in confusion. “See? I’ve still got it.”

How unfortunate those words were.

Magnus stepped back without realising how close he was to the lake. He toppled in with a yelp and a big splash. All anyone could do for the first three seconds was stare on in shock. Magnus burst through the surface, spitting and sputtering. “Fuck!”

“Shit, are you okay?” Jonas laughed.

“Look me in the eye and ask me that again.”

Jonas and Isak crouched down to help him out while Mahdi filmed the whole thing. They managed to pull Magnus out of the water safely. He glared at Mahdi. “Thanks for the help.”

Mahdi shrugged unapologetically. “You can’t expect me not to snapchat something like that.”

“Are you okay?” Camille had walked over while they were pulling Magnus out. Emma stood awkwardly behind her.

Magnus looked stunned that Camille – or any girl – had come to talk to him. Especially after that. “Just a little wet.”

She giggled. Isak was almost as happy about it as Magnus. “Only a little bit,” she joked.

Magnus smiled at her. It quickly disappeared when he started patting his pockets. He stopped suddenly. “I left my phone at your place,” he sighed with great relief.

“The first good decision you’ve made this week,” Mahdi said.

Magnus flipped him off. Camille laughed at this, too. Isak and Jonas shared a pleased look. Maybe being a disaster worked on him.

Isak looked at Emma again. Her arms were crossed over her chest. She looked really uncomfortable. Isak moved to stand beside her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said.

“How’re you doing?”

She leaned in close to whisper in his ear, “Still gay.”

Isak barked a surprised laugh. He had no idea she could be playful. It was nice. It struck Isak that he and Emma could actually be friends. They were both part of the ‘gays hopelessly in love with their best friends’ gang. That alone gave them a sense of comradery. Something that was just for them.

“Me too,” he said.

 

*********

 

Isak came home in a good mood. It was an entire world away from yesterday. Even after their apologies, things were still a little tense between him and Even. It hadn’t helped that Even seemed intent on barnacling himself to Isak when all Isak wanted was space. It was good they could spend some time apart today.

“You seem happy,” Lea said. Isak jumped. She was sitting on her arm chair as if she had been waiting for him. “Get up to no good?”

“What else?”

She gestured to the couch. “Come sit.”

Isak groaned and trudged over. He plonked down on the couch and looked at his sister. “What?”

“I’m sorry talking to me is such an ordeal,” she said sarcastically.

Isak rolled his eyes playfully at her. “You’re still my…my favourite.” His voice had gone quiet. He wasn’t used to being affectionate. Not even with family.

Lea let out a surprised laugh. “I’m your what?”

“If you make me say it again, I’ll take it back.”

Lea sat back in her chair, a happy and slightly smug look on her face. “Even if you did, I’d always know the truth.” She watched him with one of her weird, knowing looks.

“What?”

“I just want to hear about your day,” she said.

Isak shrugged. “I hung out with Jonas and some guys from school.”

“And?”

“I don’t know, we hung out.”

Lea’s shoulders sagged. “Boys. Can’t get a word out of ‘em when you want to, and can’t get ‘em to shut up when you don’t.”

Isak tossed a cushion at her. She caught it in both hands. “What did you do all day?”

“Even helped me in the kitchen for a bit. Then, I just wandered these cold, lonely halls until you came back.”

“He’s not home yet?” Lea shook her head. Isak slumped down against the couch. “Huh.”

“What’s with all the weirdness lately?” Lea asked.

Isak knew he was trying his luck with playing dumb, but he could at least give it a shot. “What weirdness?”

Lea gave him a look. Busted. “Last week, you guys barely talked. Then, yesterday, you spent half the day avoiding each other.” She leaned forward. “What’s going on?”

Isak blew out a breath and tried to look nonchalant. It was working super well. He was chill. He was the master of chill. “I don’t know what you mean.” Instead of responding, Lea stared him down. Isak tried to stare back, but he was no match for her power. He sighed loudly. “Fine!” He adjusted himself on the couch, suddenly feeling incredibly uneasy. His heart thumped against his ribcage. “I guess I kinda…havealittlecrushonhim.”

Lea leaned in. “You’re going to have to repeat that.”

Isak gave her a glare and sighed again. “I said, I have a little crush on him,” he said quietly. It was a lie. Isak knew it was much more than a little crush. But this was all he had the courage to say.

Lea watched him for a while. “I been known,” she said.

Isak huffed a laugh and blinked at her. “I just told you I’m…And _that’s_ the first thing you think to say?”

She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Isak,” she said softly, giving his hand a squeeze. “You are my annoying, smelly, wonderful little brother. I love you exactly as you are.”

Tears prickled at the back of Isak’s eyes. He hadn’t been prepared for a heart to heart when he came home. Lea got up and leaned down to give him a hug. He held her back tightly. They pulled apart several seconds later and Lea sat down next to him. Isak blinked away his unshed tears. “So, you…you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. I like men too.” They laughed together. “And, I don’t blame you. Who wouldn’t like Even?”

Isak looked down at his feet. “Yeah.”

“You don’t think he feels the same?”

Isak played with his fingers. “He’s with Sonja right now, isn’t he?”

“So?”

“What do you mean ‘so’?” Isak scoffed.

“Isak, you can’t seriously tell me you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you.”

A blush started creeping up Isak’s face. He coughed and tried to cover his face subtly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said shyly.

“Oh my God,” Lea sighed. She turned her body towards him. “You really don’t see it? The way he _always_ finds some excuse to touch you? The way he follows you everywhere? How he’d do anything for you? How he looks at you the way I look at chocolate?”

Isak gulped. Why were his hands itchy? “That’s – That’s not – I don’t…” he sputtered. Lea looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to figure it out. There was nothing to figure out. She was wrong. Jonas was wrong. Everyone was wrong. “It’s just cos I’m like, his mentor, or something. I don’t know.”

“Isak, why are you so sure he doesn’t feel the same way?”

He looked down at his fiddling hands again. “Why would he?”

Lea touched his arm. “Why wouldn’t he?”

Isak shrugged. “He’s got Sonja.”

“Ugh! Sonja! What’s so great about her? Does she have raspberry flavoured tits?”

Isak choked on a laugh. “What the fuck?”

“Well, what makes her better than you?”

_Everything._

Everything in the whole damn world. Sonja was beautiful and nice. Her energy drew everyone’s attention to her. Like you knew she was in the room before you even saw her. She was the kind of girl everyone wanted to be friends with. And Isak was…Isak wasn’t even half of that. It wasn’t just Even. It was everyone. Why would _anyone_ love Isak?  

“I don’t even know if he likes boys.”

“Has he ever specifically said he doesn’t?” Lea asked. “All he said was that he needed to get a land person to fall in love with him. He never said it had to be a girl.”

Frustration was beginning to rise from a pit in Isak’s stomach. “Why are you pushing this?”

“Because I can see something you don’t-”

“That’s right!” exclaimed Isak. “I _don’t_ see it. Please let it go.”

“But-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Lea!” Isak always had trouble controlling his temper, but he didn’t usually yell. Not at Lea.

She stared at him with wide eyes. “Okay,” she said with a curt nod.

Isak instantly felt bad. He was the worst person in the world. His anger faded. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

Lea shrugged and gave him a small smile. “It’s alright. I’m big and tough. I can take anything.”

“Yeah, you can.”

Lea rolled her eyes at him. “Suck up.”

“I have to, now.”

Lea gave his leg a pat. “You just came out to me.” She got to her feet. “I think I’ll give you a pass.”

Isak’s stomach flipped. He’d done it. He came out to his sister. He hadn’t actually said the words ‘I’m gay.’ The thought was too scary today. Perhaps those words were a little premature with Emma. But that was her. This was Lea. The most important person in his life. And he’d finally told her he…liked boys. He couldn’t help but feel a little proud of himself.

Lea held a hand out to him. “Help me with dinner?”

“Aren’t you eternally scared I’m gonna destroy your kitchen?”

“Not with adult supervision.”

Isak rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand. She pulled him up and headed for the kitchen. Isak’s phone pinged when he started to follow her. He frowned, wondering why he hadn’t thought to give it to Even today. What if something happened to him?

 

   **Sana:** Thoughts on the whole Pluto fiasco?

   **Isak:** It’s still a planet

   **Sana:** You’re entitled to your wrong opinions, I suppose

   **Isak:** Pluto will not be disrespected like this

   **Sana:** It’s not even the biggest dwarf planet!

            Our moon is bigger

   **Isak:** I cannot believe what I am reading

           I am astounded

           Truly shocked

 

“Isaaaak!” Lea called.

Isak jumped with such a force, he almost dropped his phone. “Coming,” he called back. He couldn’t wipe away the smile on his face.

Even came back just as they started plating up. They all sat at the table and ate dinner together. He didn’t give too much detail on his day. It was odd. He wouldn’t shut up about Sonja his first week here. Now, he didn’t seem to want to talk about her at all.

He offered himself and Isak to wash the dishes because he was Even. Isak agreed to help, but not without complaining. They stood at the sink, side by side. Isak washed while Even dried, wearing extra long rubber gloves. Lea gave Isak a wink and left the kitchen once they’d gotten started.

Isak wasn’t sure exactly when he began to start feeling uncomfortable being alone with Even. He cleared his throat, searching for something to say. “So…the full moon’s coming up…”

“Yeah.”

“Are you…are you excited?”

Even paused for a long time. “I suppose I must be.”

Isak frowned. Apparently he wasn’t the only one feeling weird. “You okay?”

“Just nervous about it,” Even shrugged. “I really want it to work out.”

Isak’s heart clenched slightly. He regretted bringing it up at all. He took a deep breath, willing his voice to come out happy and light. “Will you come visit?”

Even bumped their shoulders. It was so, so nice. “I’ll visit so often, you’ll get sick of me.”

“We’re already past that,” Isak teased.

“Oi!” Even bumped his shoulder again with a laugh. “I’m serious, though. I’d miss everything up here too much to stay away. Movies. Lea. Jonas.” He leaned in to press their shoulders together. “You.”

Isak’s blush went all the way to his ears. He refused to look at Even. “You’re so cheesy.”

“Yeah, but…” Even nudged him. “You like cheese.”

Isak fucking _loved_ cheese.

 

*********

 

The next several days happened so fast, Isak could hardly keep up. Even got more and more obsessed over the full moon as the days ticked away. Isak would wake up to him pacing around the room in the middle of the night. He couldn’t blame him. Isak was starting to feel just as anxious about the deadline.

What would happen when it came? Was Sonja in love with Even? Would Isak ever see him again?

These were all questions he wasn’t sure he wanted the answers to.

Couldn’t they just stop time for a while? Pretend there was no deal? No Sonja, no evil mermaid pod, no magic at all.

They could just be Isak and Even. Enjoying summer.

Was that really too much to ask?

 

*********

 

Sunday.

The day of the full moon.

It seemed unreal. All this time talking about it, worrying over it. The day was finally here.

“Even, you look fine,” Lea said.

Even had changed shirts for the fifth time. He stopped in front of the bathroom mirror and combed his fingers through his hair. “You don’t think I look too casual?”

“She’s seen you a hundred times, dude,” Jonas said. “She’s not going to dump you over your outfit.”

Even was going to meet Sonja at the pier by Eva’s house. The moon was set to rise early in the evening. He had been a nervous wreck the entire day. There was only so much anyone could say. The fate of Even’s home rested on tonight.

He sighed and turned to face Isak. “What do you think?”

What did Isak think? _I don’t want you to go_. _I think I love you._

He forced a smile, hoping it didn’t look too sad. “You look good,” he told him. That was an understatement. Even looked beautiful. He always did, the fucker.

Even smiled back. There was sadness behind his as well. He shifted his gaze between Isak and Jonas. “Will you come with me?”

“I thought you’d want to talk to her alone,” Jonas said. He shared a hesitant look with Isak.

“Oh. Yeah, I do.” Even pulled his lips in and ducked his head, looking much younger than he was. “I just…In case something goes wrong, or…I don’t know, I thought you could watch from afar. I don’t want to say goodbye here.”

Isak melted and broke at the same time. He didn’t want to say goodbye at all. “Yeah,” he said. His voice was so hoarse, it came out more like a croak. He cleared his throat. “We’ll come.”

“Thanks.”

Jonas looked at Isak worriedly. Isak ignored him.

Even saved Lea’s farewell until they were standing outside the house. She gave him a watery smile and opened her arms. “Come here, you.”

They held each other tightly for several long seconds. “Thank you for everything,” Even said sincerely. “You’re the best land girl I’ve ever met.”

Lea pulled back, sniffling. “I bet you say that to all the girls.” He smiled at her. “Come around from time to time, alright?”

“I will.”

Jonas gave him a pat on the back. “We should go.”

“Off you go,” Lea said. “Go save the world.”

The boys headed down the street silently. The air was thick, making it harder to breathe. Isak wondered if it was from the summer heat or the mood.

Even leaned on Isak the entire tram ride. He could feel him trembling. It may have very well been his own body trembling. He couldn’t be sure.

The sky wasn’t quite dark when they got there, but the moon was out. It looked closer than it usually did. There was a strange menacing feel about it. Isak gulped while he stared up at it.

“So, are you gonna tell her your secret?” Jonas asked.

“If everything goes to plan,” Even said quickly. His hands were red from an entire day of intense fidgeting.

Isak moved closer to him and took both of his hands in his. “Here.” He pressed his thumbs into the tops of Even’s hands, massaging them.

Even breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. “Thanks.”

“Here she comes,” Jonas said.

They looked up to see Sonja approaching from a different direction. Isak gave Even’s hands a squeeze and let him go. A crack began to form in his heart. “Good luck.”

Fear briefly flashed across Even’s face. He blinked and looked down at his empty hands. “Yeah.” He walked away after giving Isak a sad glance. Why did he look so sad? He met Sonja and led her to the end of the pier so they were close to the water.

Isak and Jonas watched on from several metres away. They wouldn’t be able to hear a word, but it would be pretty easy to guess what the outcome was.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Jonas asked.

Isak laughed humourlessly. “I kind of have to be.”

“No you don’t, Isak,” Jonas insisted. “If you want to be with him, you can tell him.”

“It’s too late, now.”

A loud ‘ping’ made them both jump. Isak pulled his phone from his pocket. Jonas looked over his shoulder.

 

   **Emma:** So…

               I kind of told Sonja

               You know…

               How I feel

 

“Shit,” Isak said in surprise. That was both good and bad. Good that Emma had gotten her feelings off her chest. And bad because…

Isak snapped his head up to where Sonja and Even stood. The conversation looked serious. Isak had absolutely no idea what was going to happen now. He didn’t even know what he was hoping for anymore.

They talked for a while. Sonja gave Even’s arm a squeeze. Then, she turned around and walked back in the direction she came from. Even watched her go, motionless.

“Oh, shit,” Jonas said. He was genuinely surprised. Isak was stunned.

_What the fuck._

Thunder clapped above them. The clouds gathered, swirling as the sky suddenly grew dark. A flash of lightning went through the sky. Cruel laughter travelled in the wind.

“Isak,” Jonas said, almost pleading. Even needed them.

They ran towards Even as his shoulders slumped. He was completely dejected.

“Even!” Isak yelled.

Even looked at the darkening sky in disbelief. “It can’t be over,” he said helplessly. There was a violent clap of thunder above. The waves grew stronger, crashing against the pier with resounding slaps.

Jonas gestured to Even with his head. ‘Tell him’, his expression said.

He was right. This was the perfect time. Even if he ended up rejected and heartbroken, this could save Even’s home. He didn’t have to feel the same way. Isak’s heart was pounding so hard, he thought he might pass out. Those big, cheesy love confession scenes always seemed a lot easier in the movies.

“It can’t be over,” Even said again, this time louder and more desperate.

“It’s not,” Isak said. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the swirling ocean.

Even slowly turned to him. The utter disappointment on his face made Isak’s hammering heart clench. “She doesn’t love me,” Even said. He laughed, humourless and bitter. “I failed. Who was I kidding, anyway? I was never going to make this work. She doesn’t love me. No one loves me. Who would?”

How ridiculous that sounded to Isak. He had often thought the same thing about himself. But Even thinking it? It was unimaginable. There were infinite things to love about him. Isak loved every last one. He loved him.

“ _I_ do,” Isak blurted out.

Even stumbled, physically taken aback. “You…” He walked closer until they were standing right in front of each other. “You do?”

Isak closed his eyes. He felt like he might piss himself. “Yes. Even, I – I...”

“Isak, you don’t have to do this,” Even said in understanding. He didn’t understand shit.

“No.” It was time. “I do.” Isak couldn’t breathe. He closed his eyes again. “I love you.” He sighed, feeling like his hammering heart might suffocate him. “I’m in love with you,” he said in a small voice.

“Like…like a friend?” Even sounded just as insecure as Isak felt.

“No.”    

He heard Even let out a breath, but he couldn’t tell what emotion he was releasing. Isak couldn’t bear to look at him. He was so pathetic. He was nothing but-

All his thoughts stopped when Even’s hands came to his face. Big and cool like always. Even leaned in and kissed Isak, deep and hard. Isak responded instantly. He brought his hands to the back of Even’s head. He gave everything to that kiss because this was _not_ what friends did, dammit.

Friends didn’t make your heart beat like this.

They separated their lips, panting lightly. Isak moved his hands to Even’s shoulders, while Even kept his on Isak’s face. Isak had not been prepared to see stars in Even’s eyes. For him to be in awe. It was like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.

Even slowly broke out into a big, tender smile. “I knew it.”

Isak gulped. “Knew what?”

“This is what love feels like.”

 _Wow._ Isak melted into a puddle. It must’ve shown on his face, because Even laughed, joyous and light. It was a lovely sound.

“How?” Isak croaked. His throat and his tummy and his everything felt all funny.

Even took Isak’s hand and placed it on his chest, right over his heart. Isak felt Even’s heart thumping. It was the same wild rhythm as his own. Even moved his head closer, coaxing Isak to look at his face again. He smiled softly at him. “Sonja never made my heart beat like this.”

 _Wow._ That took Isak’s breath away. It almost didn’t seem real.

“You’re not disappointed? That it’s me and not her?”

Even let out a disbelieving laugh. He pulled Isak in and kissed him again. Isak would never ever get used to the feeling of his lips on his. Of the taste of his tongue. Of Even’s heart thumping against his chest. It left Isak breathless.

“What do you think?” Even whispered once he’d pulled away.

“You never said anything.”

Even tucked a curl behind Isak’s ear. “Neither did you.” He looked out across the water. “You hear that?! He loves me! We won!”

The thunder stopped instantly and the waves calmed. Even laughed triumphantly. Isak laughed with him. “What’s going to happen, now?”

Even let go of him. “Jonas,” he called.

Isak hadn’t noticed when, but Jonas had walked away to give them some privacy. He came back, wearing a knowing look. “What’s up?” he said with a smirk.

Even took a breath. “I have to go back for a while. Gotta make sure those sea slugs make good on our deal. But I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? I promise.”

Isak believed him. “Okay.”

The three of them stood in front of each other, unsure of what to do. “So, this is goodbye for now?” Jonas asked.

Even nodded slowly. “For now.” He stepped in to give Jonas a hug. “Give my love to your mother.”

Jonas laughed and pushed him away. “Stay away from my mother.”

Even turned his eyes to Isak. They were tender and wistful. Isak wasn’t sure if he was going to cry or not. He pulled Even in for a big hug. He held him close and rubbed his back.

“I love you, too,” Even said softly into his ear. Just for him.

Isak’s breath hitched. This was a dream. It had to be.

They carefully pulled apart. Even brought Isak’s hand up to his lips and pressed a sweet kiss to his knuckles. Everything tingled. He couldn’t speak.

Even stepped away from him and backed to the edge of the pier. “See you soon.”

“Go kick some evil mermaid butt, fish boy,” Jonas said.

“Not a fish,” Even smirked.

He dove gracefully into the sea. Isak and Jonas walked to the pier’s edge. They saw Even’s blue tail splash before disappearing under the waves.

Isak swallowed the lump in his throat. Nothing was certain. He didn’t know when he’d see him again, or what would happen when he did. All he knew was that Even would come back.

Jonas put an arm around Isak’s shoulders. “Up for a game of fifa?”

Isak gave him a weak smile. “Sounds good.”

 

*********

 

**Two weeks later**

 

“There is no way in the world he was right,” Sana said.

“There’s like, a shit ton of proof,” Isak argued.

Sana raised a brow. “Try using that in an essay.”

Isak rolled his eyes at her. He opened his mouth to retort when his phone pinged. “Sorry. It’s probably my sister.”

“Go ahead,” Sana said.

It wasn’t his sister.

 

   **Jonas:** Hey Issy K. Meet me outside Operahuset at 15:00.

   **Isak:** What are we doing?

   **Jonas:** Just come

   **Isak:** Not until you tell my what we’re dongi

           *doing

           Jonas

           bro

           For fuck sake

          

 

Isak sighed and put his phone back in his pocket.

Sana looked far too amused. “Are you in trouble?”

“Maybe.”

 

*********

 

Isak got to Operahuset at 15:00 on the dot. He waited a single minute before writing a nasty message out to Jonas for being late. He was in the middle of writing ‘flaky mother fuc-’ when he heard a familiar voice.

“How’s it going, cranky pants?”

Isak’s heart stopped. He turned around slowly. “Even.”

Even was smiling at him just a few feet away. “Miss me?”

Isak broke out into a smile that took up his entire face. He rushed forward and pulled Even into a hug. Even hugged him back blissfully. Isak pressed a dozen little kisses across Even’s face, making him laugh. Isak reached Even’s lips and gave him a smiley kiss. He pulled back to look at him. “Hi.”

Even’s smile widened. “Hi.”

Nothing else seemed to matter. None of the doubt and fear that had plagued Isak for weeks. Until a single thought crossed his mind.

“Hang on.” Isak got out of Even’s hold. “You saw Jonas before me?”

“No,” Even said, reaching for him again. “Remember when they redecorated the shop? Julie put around all those sea shells…”

Isak squinted. “Are you saying you called Jonas by shell phone?”

“Yes.”

Isak pushed him away with a laugh. “Fuck off.”

Even grabbed his hands and pulled him close. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Why?”

Even leaned in. His lips were a breath away. “Thought it would be romantic.”

Isak rolled his eyes, trying not to let him know just how happy that made him. Even wanted to be romantic for _him._ “You’re so cheesy, oh my God.”

Even nuzzled Isak’s nose with his. “You love it.”

“You can’t prove it.”

Even pulled back to look at him. “I have a pretty good feeling.” He gave Isak a peck. “Jonas said Vasquez Fish is back on track.”

Isak nodded, his head a little fuzzy. He wasn’t used to this. This intimacy. Someone treating him like…like a lover. He cleared his throat. “It’s looking like they won’t have to close.”

“Fantastic! Or, wait, wait… _Fin_ -tastic.”

Isak threw his head back. A groan would not satisfy how lame that was. “I’m going to need to wash my ears out.”

Even laughed the way he had at the pier. Light and full of joy. Isak couldn’t believe what was happening. He was so stupidly in love.

“What about you?” he asked, remembering why Even was here. “What happened with the bet and those Pulmari guys?”

“They were _not_ happy,” Even told him, shaking his head. “But, a bet’s a bet. A few of them tried to fight back, but we got rid of them.”

“So, your pod’s safe?”

Even nodded cheerfully. His good mood was infectious. “They are. We got our home back.”

“All thanks to you.”

“Us,” Even said gently.

Isak pulled a face. “What did I do?”

“I would’ve died here without you.”

“Eva easily could’ve been the one to find you. She would have taken care of you.”

Even pushed some hair back from Isak’s forehead. “But, I fell in love with _you_.”

Isak swallowed hard. He wasn’t quite sure what to do. And he still didn’t know what Even’s plans were. “Uh…and what about your pod? Were they happy to see you?”

Even smiled in a way Isak had never seen before. There was a sense of pride in it. “They threw me a party after we got everything settled.”

Isak stroked his hands up and down Even’s back. “You’re a hero.”

Even snorted. “Right. But the best part of it is they aren’t so scared of the surface anymore.”

“That’s great, Even,” Isak said genuinely.

“It is. I told them about movies and pizza and land schools. And I told them all about you.”

Isak’s face heated. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” He nuzzled Isak’s nose and pulled back again. “Not everyone’s convinced, but most of the Osa think the surface is really interesting. They’re even considering making a class about it.”

Isak looked down at his shoes. “I…I guess you don’t really have a reason to hang around here anymore,” he said.

Even made a ‘tsk’ noise and lifted Isak’s chin with his thumb. “I have one very good reason.”

Isak bit back a smile. He could already see where his cheesy idiot was going. “What would that be?”

“A very. Very. Beautiful. Boy.” Even put both hands on Isak’s face and stepped closer between each word. He brought their lips together. Isak wrapped his arms around him and kissed back eagerly. When they pried their mouths apart, Even rested his forehead against Isak’s. “And I meant what I said that day.”

_I love you, too._

Tingles shot through Isak’s entire body. Jonas and Lea were never going to let Isak hear the end of this.

 

********

 

Isak woke in Even’s arms. This time, he was allowed to enjoy it. They had spent the night sharing secrets, cuddles and kisses. Isak thought he was dead. Or dreaming. He had to keep pinching himself to remind him this was real. He really was wrapped in Even’s warmth.

Even was already awake, playing with his hair. Isak smiled and stretched out as best as he could. “Sleep well?”

Isak opened his eyes slowly. Even was looking right at him. His eyes were so. Damn. Blue. _He’s beautiful._

“Thanks,” Even chuckled.

Isak tensed. “I did not say that out loud.”

Even continued combing his fingers through Isak’s hair, soothing him. “We can pretend you didn’t.”

Isak smiled sleepily. His mind wondered while he enjoyed Even’s fingers in his hair. He still had so many questions. When did Even know he liked him? Why?

“How long?”

Even hummed and stopped his movements. “How long what?”

“I mean, when did you know? That you…that you liked me.”

Even’s other hand rubbed Isak’s arm. “Since the night I thought I ruined everything with Sonja. You were…and I was…I started to…yeah.”

Around the same time as him. And he hadn’t noticed a thing. All Isak could think was _shit._

“Shit.”  

“Yeah.” Even gave Isak’s hair a tug, making him look up at him. “I thought…” He sighed and hugged Isak even closer. “When you said you didn’t know if you liked boys, I tried to…back off a little. Guess it didn’t work too well.”

“Good.” Isak snuggled closer. “But what about Sonja?”

Even sighed and rested his cheek on Isak’s head. “I did like her. But…she’s not you. I was more interested in saving my turf.”

“You know, she’s dating Emma now,” Isak said sleepily.

“I guess that’s why she rejected me,” Even chuckled. Isak joined in. Even gave him a squeeze. “Guess what.”

“What?”

“I have a boner.”

Isak opened his eyes and sat up. “Oh my God!” he laughed.

“It’s sentimental,” Even said.

“What?”

Even nodded emphatically. “This is the first place I got a boner on land.”

“So, your dick is just as corny as the rest of you?”

Even gave him a cheeky smile. “I guess it likes you as much as the rest of me.”

Lea walked in on them just as they started making out. She covered her eyes and stood in the doorway. “Just wanted to ask if you wanted breakfast.”

“Yes, please,” Even said enthusiastically.

Isak threw a pillow at her. “Lea, get out!”

She gave him a mock glare, then turned to Even with a smile. “You know, I’ve always wanted a pet.”

“What?” Even laughed.

“A merman is as good as a fish, right?”

Isak and Even spoke at the same time. “He’s not a fish!”

“I’m not a fish!”  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End! 
> 
> I'm so sorry for the slightly longer wait. I was actually busy with real life for once. Can you imagine? Me and real life! Also, I had a really hard time writing this because I wanted to get it right. Still not 100% with it, but hey. BTW I just got back from my new job orientation, so I am bloody tired! 
> 
> Sad to see this one go, but I had so much fun writing it. Thank you thank you thank you to all those who read along and those who commented. A special shout out to my regulars. You know who you are <3  
> You've all managed to put a smile on my face over and over <3 
> 
> The chapter titles in order came from The Little Mermaid's 'Part of your world', 'Waves' by Dean Lewis, 'No ordinary girl' by Kate Alexa, 'Kiss the girl' from The Little Mermaid, 'The tide is high' by Blondie and 'Mr. Moonlight' by The Beatles. 
> 
> How to mermaids weigh themselves?  
> Scales.
> 
> Why couldn't the pirate learn the alphabet?  
> He always got stuck at C.
> 
> Two for the price of one ;)  
> It's been real, my loves. 
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at [thegirlnooneknows5](http://thegirlnooneknows5.tumblr.com/)  
> My ask is always open and I am always lonely <3


End file.
